Al Roker Credits His Granddaughter for Helping Him Get Through His Health Journey

The weather anchor's daughter Courtney Roker, and her husband, Wesley Laga, welcomed Sky on July 3

Al Roker is one grateful grandfather!

During a chat with Entertainment Tonight, the Today Show personality, 69, credited his granddaughter, Sky Clara Laga, as someone who helped him get through his recent health issues.

Related: Al Roker's Health Journey Over the Years, in His Own Words

"I'm doing great, doing great. I tell you, the thing that's kept me going is I've had a new granddaughter," he said.

Roker told the outlet that the best part of being a grandfather was that "you could love up on 'em, and then you give them back."

"If I had known they were this much fun, I would've had them first. It's the best," he added.

The weather anchor's daughter Courtney Roker, and her husband, Wesley Laga, welcomed Sky on July 3. Shortly after her arrival, Roker told his Today co-hosts that becoming a grandfather was "magical."

"The thing is, everyone tells you it’s going to be 'this thing' and you don’t know; it’s like when they tell you about having your first child. And then to hold this little girl, knowing almost 35 years ago I held her mom? And here she is, 5 lbs., 15 oz. 19 inches long and she’s just perfect," he said.

Related: Al Roker Says He's 'Glad to Be Alive' as He Celebrates 69th Birthday with His Family and First Grandchild

Last month, he chronicled his first time babysitting Sky overnight in a post on Instagram. He shared in the caption: "The perfect weekend. Thanks to @ouichefroker and @thatteacherwhodjs for letting me babysit my little Sky Clara over the weekend. I forgot how hard a 3+ month old is on your own. 24 hours without a shower. Whew."

Roker then followed up the post by sharing a photo of a bottle station set up on his kitchen counter.

In November 2022, Roker was treated for blood clots in his legs and lungs. His hospitalization caused him to spend weeks off the air and miss his first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 27 years. Later in May, he underwent knee replacement surgery and detailed the complexity of the procedure during a virtual appearance on Today.

"This one is a little more complicated because it's what they call a revision; it was a replacement of a replacement, so they had to take stuff out, put stuff in, so it was a bit of a bear," he said. "So we've just been kind of hanging out. Chilling out, not doing anything — which I know, a lot of people find hard to believe, but in fact, that is the case."

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Roker then made an unexpected appearance on the morning talk show where he said he was "doing fine" and called the procedure "the toughest one yet."

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