Al Roker makes emotional health confession, thanks his family in heartfelt update

Al Roker has a lot to be thankful for this year: his much-improved health, and the brand-new family member who keeps him motivated.

It has been nearly a year since the veteran Today Show host, 69, was hospitalized, after battling with blood clots that traveled to his lungs, requiring multiple surgeries and a long recovery.

Since then, things have certainly been looking up. The beloved weatherman is fully recuperated, and back in June, he celebrated the arrival of his first granddaughter, Sky Clara, who his daughter Courtney welcomed earlier this year with her husband Wes Laga.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight earlier this week, Al assured fans: "I'm doing great, doing great."

Then he endearingly confessed: "I tell you, the thing that's kept me going is I've had a new granddaughter."

Further gushing about his new role as a grandfather, and the best part of it all, he said: "You could love up on 'em and then you give them back," adding: "If I had known they were this much fun I would've had them first. It's the best."

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Plus, little Sky Clara is already making her grandad proud, and for her very first Halloween, her parents dressed her up as a cloud, perfectly honoring her grandad's longrunning career as NBC's star meteorologist. "It's very sweet, so [I'm] very excited," the doting grandfather proudly gushed.

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Al recently had his very first weekend by himself taking care of the newborn, and he was proud to share with his fans that it went smoothly.

Sharing a slew of adorable photos on Instagram of all his cuddles and picturesque walks with Sky, he then wrote: "The perfect weekend. Thanks to @ouichefroker and @thatteacherwhodjs for letting me babysit my little Sky Clara over the weekend," adding: "I forgot how hard a 3+ month old is on your own. 24 hours without a shower. Whew."

Plus, in a subsequent post showing off his set-up of baby bottles and gadgets galore, he joked: "It’s been a while since I had this setup going on in the kitchen. Good to know I can still do this. Like riding a bike. But, I get to give the bike back to the owners."

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