Savannah Guthrie Returns to TODAY After Recovering from Eye Surgery
January 6, 2020 – 12:56 PM – 0 Comments
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Savannah Guthrie is back on the air! The journalist returned to the TODAY show Monday after recovering from retinal surgery last month.
"When I say 'Good to see you,' I really mean it," Guthrie, 48, told viewers on the NBC morning show. Hoda Kotb was equally happy to have her friend back at work. "I gotta tell you, it feels so good to have you sitting right here," she gushed.
"When I say, 'Good to see you,' I really mean it." @savannahguthrie is back with us this morning, and we couldn't be happier! pic.twitter.com/aQU1zXpmAQ
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 6, 2020
The TV personality expressed her excitement on Twitter by sharing photos of herself back on set. "This is my 'I'm so happy to [be] back with all my @TODAYshow loves' face," she wrote.
Guthrie told TODAY, "I see the year 2020 but not 20/20 just yet," adding, "My vision is blurry but will ultimately be mostly back to normal. I need a new prescription when my vision settles down."
Back in November, Guthrie's son Charley, who turned 3 in December, accidentally hit his mom in the eye with a toy train, which inadvertently tore her retina. The incident caused the mom of two to temporarily lose vision in her right eye.
This is my "I'm so happy to back with all my @TODAYshow loves" face pic.twitter.com/dLe4JoCiZW
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) January 6, 2020
Related: Watch Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb Sing "Jolene" with Dolly Parton on TODAY
"He's 2, so he doesn't even know what he did," Guthrie said calling into TODAY after it happened. "I wouldn't want to make him feel bad for it. He hears me talking about it and he has no idea. I was FaceTiming with my mom to tell her and he came running in and said, 'I did it!'" She joked with her coanchors, "He's a bruiser!"
After undergoing unsuccessful laser treatments, Guthrie's doctors determined that the journalist needed surgery to reattach her retina. "The retinal tear had deteriorated sharply, and I lost my vision," she told PEOPLE after the procedure. "And that's what happens if you don't fix this: You lose your sight."
Related: Savannah Guthrie's Children's Book Focuses on 'Working Together for a Common Purpose'
"That was the first time I felt freaked out," she continued. "I was hoping that they weren't going to get in there and see, 'Oh, it's worse than we thought. We can't fix it.' That was probably the lowest I felt, because I was just really scared."
Here's the reason I've been out for a couple days. This little cutie has super strength!! Last week, Charley threw this train at my eye and turns out it caused a large tear in my retina, which has caused me to lose sight temporarily in my right eye! It was a little bit touch and go over the last few days but it looks like the retina will hold and not detach and I won't need full eye surgery. The docs are hopeful the laser procedures are working to keep the retina from detaching and I won't have to have surgery. Very thankful for good doctors and good medical care. And thankful for your good wishes!!
A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie) on Nov 27, 2019 at 7:40am PST
Thankfully the surgery went off without a hitch, though the recovery proved to be "uniquely challenging." Guthrie was required to lay facedown the first day after her procedure and had to switch between laying facedown and sitting up every hour. "Your body starts hurting in different places, lying down like that," she admitted.
Despite it all, Guthrie doesn't want her son to feel guilty. "He's a little boy. He didn't mean to do that," she said. "He got a two minute time out and that's it. I would ever want him to feel responsible."
TODAY's Hoda and Savannah are like sisters! Read about the pair's off-screen relationship here.