Robin Roberts: "Good Morning America" Co-Host Leaves Show Earlier than Expected
To say Robin Roberts has a lot to deal with is an understatement.
Roberts is flying home to Mississippi to be with her ailing, 88-year-old mother, Lucimarian, and her family in the Hurricane Isaac zone. Although she was to begin her extended medical leave from "Good Morning America" after Aug. 31, she had to move her departure to Aug. 30, ABC News reported.
"I'm having to move up my schedule," the anchor, 51, said at the top of the show on Aug. 30, according to People magazine.
Roberts will then be treated for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood and bone marrow disorder, and is starting preparations to undergo a bone-marrow transplant.
Roberts's sister, Sally, is the bone-marrow donor. "Recovery time is so quick," Sally said on Thursday's "GMA."
This week, leading to Roberts's farewell, "GMA" shared stories of those who are also battling MDS.
Roberts beat breast cancer, but some survivors can suffer from other diseases which are triggered by treatments, such as chemotherapy.
"It's rare to have MDS and mine was because of complications from the breast cancer treatment," Roberts said.
"I am very blessed," she added. "Forty percent of Americans can't even take a sick day, and here I know that I'm going to have a job when I come back."
Roberts promised her "GMA" co-hosts that she would be "watching [them] in her jammies," and that thinking of their times on the show together would put her in her happy place.
"I know the journey ahead will not be easy," Roberts admitted, with a nod to the support she's received, "but I'm going to focus on all these gifts."
Though she said there is "no timetable" for her recovery or her return to the show, she tried to put her viewers and fans at ease by saying, "Just know that I'm going to come back here as soon as I can."
