- Al Roker was forced to miss his first Thanksgiving Day Parade in almost 30 years on Thursday.
- The "Today" host was hospitalized last week after a blood clot in his leg spread to his lungs.
Al Roker was forced to skip the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, marking the first time the legendary NBC weatherman has not been part of the event in 27 years.
As has become tradition, his "Today" cohosts, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, led the NBC coverage of the 2.5-mile parade, which travels from Central Park West to Seventh Avenue in front of Macy's Herald Square.
Sadly, though, Roker was unable to partake in the festivities due to ongoing health issues, which left him hospitalized last week.
Roker was discharged in time to spend the holiday at home with his family.
In a video posted to his Instagram Thursday, Roker can be seen walking through the hallways of a hospital dressed in comfy attire.
"So much to be #thankful for on the #Thanksgiving day. Leaving the hospital and home for #ThanksgivingDinner," he wrote in the caption.
Roker said in the video: "All right, this is my version of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, getting ready to leave the hospital. Time to blow this taco stand."
Later in the day, he posted a second update as he tuned into the parade from home. "Back home in time to catch a little bit of the #MacysThanksgivingDayParade," he wrote alongside a photo of him smiling next to his television. "Missing being next to @SavannahGuthrie and @HodaKotb."
Roker posted a third photo of himself surrounded by his family, which he captioned: "So very #thankful to be able to be home for #thanksgiving #dinner with #family."
Last Friday, the 68-year-old anchor shared with his social media followers the reason why he has not been seen on air lately, revealing that a blood clot had spread from his leg to his lungs.
"So many of you have been thoughtfully asking where I've been. Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs," he wrote in a tweet addressing his absence from the NBC show.
"After some medical whack-a-mole, 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. Have a great weekend, everyone."
Roker has worked for NBC since 1978 and has been part of the "Today" show's Thanksgiving celebrations since 1995, so his absence was felt during Thursday's parade.
NBC meteorologist Dylan Dreyer stood in for him Thursday and even received a call from the White House as President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden wanted to ask how Roker was doing.
Per CNN, Dreyer assured the president that Roker was doing "great."