Hoda Kotb Shares Message of Thanks Following Daughter's ICU Stay and 'Today' Absence

Hoda Kotb is feeling gratitude following her 3-year-old daughter, Hope's, hospitalization. On Tuesday, the Today show co-anchor took to Instagram to post a message of thanks to her followers and fans.

"Thank you …for all of your beautiful words and prayers," Kotb wrote next to a picture that had the words "Thank You" written three times.

"I have read them all. You have no idea how much it means to me and my family. I am so profoundly touched.❤️"

Kotb's message comes after she expressed on Monday, just how challenging it was for her to be thankful while her daughter was experiencing health difficulties. 

"It's funny, I always talk about gratitude, gratitude, but I found myself not living in that lane because I was scared," Kotb said during the third hour of Today. "And then I decided, you know what, let me think about this for a minute. I have a family who loves me. I have a little girl who's home. I have a wonderful support system. I have doctors who would have done anything to make everything better, and they did. So sometimes you talk about gratitude and when you're pushed to the limit you're like, do I feel it?"

Kotb also held up a necklace she was wearing that was given to her by a friend and holds a special meaning.

"She said, 'I'm going to take it off my neck and I'm going to send it to you and it's worn down because I rub it all the time and it says, 'God's got this,'" Kotb said. "She says, 'If I ever see you not wearing it, I'm coming to get you.'"

During Monday morning's broadcast, Kotb shared that her extended absence from Today was due to her daughter's hospitalization.

"My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for more than a week. I'm so grateful she's home," 58-year-old journalist said. "She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come, and we are watching her closely. I'm just so happy."

Kotb -- who is also mother to 6-year-old daughter Haley -- did not disclose the reason for Hope's stay in the hospital. 

The co-anchor also appears in the latest issue of Southern Living magazine, and talks about how important it is for Haley and Hope to have a second home in her beloved New Orleans, Louisiana.

Kotb, who lived in the Big Easy for six years during her time as a local news reporter, shares that she wants her daughters to find a sense of home like she did.

"I want them to understand that when they get off the plane and they walk into the city, they’re going to get a warm embrace," Kotb tells Southern Living. "I want so badly for this to be part of their lives because it’s such an important part of mine."

She adds, "I want them to have the feeling of eating a warm croissant or a warm beignet. I want them to know the feeling of a random jazz band popping up in the middle of nowhere and music and people dancing and people not caring what people think. I want them to know that life so (that) they will (come) here their whole lives. And I think it’s going to end up being a place that they feel like is home."

RELATED CONTENT: 

Hoda Kotb Struggled With Gratitude Amid Daughter's Hospitalization

Hoda Kotb Returns to 'Today,' Reveals Daughter Hope Was in the ICU

Hoda Kotb's 'Today' Show Absence Explained as a 'Family Health Matter'

Hoda Kotb Reveals Daughter Was in the ICU Amid ‘Today’ Show Absence

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