Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer stood in for colleague Al Roker at the 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City Thursday.
The NBC News meteorologist and co-host of “Today” helped host NBC’s coverage of the parade from the street, conducting interviews with stars including Jake Lacy (“A Friend of the Family” and “White Lotus”) while colleagues Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb hosted from a post near Macy’s flagship in New York’s Herald Square.
At the beginning of the parade, the “Today” team shared that Dreyer, 41, would be filling in for Roker. Roker has been away from the “Today” show after being hospitalized for blood clots.
‘I am so fortunate’:Al Roker recovering after being hospitalized for blood clots
Shortly after the parade’s start, Dreyer took a call from President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden while they watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade at home like millions of other Americans. They inquired about how Roker was doing and she assured them, he’s doing “great.”
The longtime meteorologist, 68, announced on Instagram earlier this month that he’s been hospitalized for some “medical whack-a-mole” and is now on the mend.
Roker went home for Thanksgiving dinner, according to his post on Instagram Thursday. “So much to be #thankful for on the #thanksgiving day. Leaving the hospital and home for,” he wrote.
“Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs,” he wrote on an Instagram post Friday which included a bouquet of flowers and an NBC mug. “I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope to see you soon.”
Blood clots, or deep vein thrombosis, commonly occur in the leg but can also develop in the arm, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Part of the clot, called an embolus, can break off and travel to the lungs,” which can cut off blood flow to the lungs.
Roker has sat on the “Today” show’s weather desk since 1996 and has been transparent about medical issues in the past, including his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2020.
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