Hoda Kotb said that her youngest daughter’s health has “finally stabilized” after she was hospitalized a year ago for a “scary” emergency that has forever changed their lives.
Talking to People in an interview published Wednesday, the “Today with Hoda and Jenna” co-host explained that managing Hope’s health condition, which she refused to disclose due to her young age, is now a long-term situation.
As to why she’s keeping her diagnosis under wraps, she also said, “It’s really tricky, because I don’t want Hope to get labeled.
“She’s a kid who is so vibrant, and most days everything is totally fine. I don’t want people to look at her differently.”
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Kotb, 59, furthered that, because of her health issues, she has hired extra help to monitor her around the clock and take care of the new medical demands while “trying to make everything normal” for the 4-year-old.
Further discussing the situation that took her away from the “Today” show for two weeks in February 2023, she said, “We had a scary stretch. Any parent who’s been through a scary thing with their child understands. It’s like you just can’t believe that your child’s sick.”
“You can’t believe that no matter what you do, you can’t will it away or protect her, or all the things that we’re supposed to be doing as parents. And it’s a position I’ve never found myself in,” she shared.
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The journalist –– who also has daughter Haley, 7 –– also voiced her concern about her behavior around Hope as she tries to protect her from any concerns.
“I’m not going to put my worry on her. It’s too much for a kid to carry,” Kotb said, adding that she can rarely sleep through the night without listening for Hope’s monitor.
“Even just always saying, ‘How are you feeling? You feeling good today, honey?’ is saying, ‘I’m worried,’ because you’re not saying that about your other child. I’ll be discussing how it’s going with the nanny, the nurse, whoever, and if she’s there, she’s like, ‘Am I okay?’ I’m trying so hard to let her be a kid and not have all of the grown-up worries.”
Kotb also gushed about her “Today” show co-workers — as well as her sister, Hala, her brother, Adel, and her mother, Sameha — who all showed up and have continued to support her throughout the ordeal.
The “Hope Is A Rainbow” author reflected on being “in a puddle” when Al Roker visited them in the hospital and when Savannah Guthrie entertained people at Hope’s birthday party last year.
“The kids keep saying, ‘It’s like Thanksgiving over and over again!’ This is the most support I’ve ever had,” she raved.
Exactly one year ago, Kotb emotionally announced on the “Today” show that she and her daughter had been in the ICU “for a few days” and hospitalized for “more than a week.”
“I’m so grateful she’s home,” Kotb said at the time. “We are watching her closely. I am just so happy.”
The journalist later told Pvnew that they still have a “long road to go, but she’s doing much better.”
“We’re making great progress,” she told us in May 2023. “This kid is full of healing light, as I say to her.”
