It’s been a long road for Robin Roberts over the past 12 months. Around this time last year, she left her post on Good Morning America in order to seek treatment for the bone marrow disease myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). At the time, the TV host needed a bone marrow transplant, and her sister was preparing to donate bone marrow to help save her life. The procedure went off without a hitch, and after months of recovery, Roberts is prepping to return to ABC’s early morning program full time.
It took many months for Roberts to recover, but the 52-year-old remained positive. She put together blog posts and let her friends at GMA keep the populace posted concerning her recovery status. Then, in February, the TV host returned to the Good Morning America stage for her first post-surgery appearance, starting out that triumphant episode with the statement, “Hi, it’s Robin and I have been waiting 174 days to say this: Good morning America.”
The February return to work seemed pretty quick, even if Roberts only returned to her position on a part-time basis. Over the past year, a slew of big names have taken the stage during her bouts of absence, including her pal Oprah Winfrey, and helped out as Roberts suffered a few setbacks in the recovery process, even taking a break in April to recharge. Regardless, now the daytime host says she is ready to return to her job on a full-time basis, after the upcoming holiday, that is. Her return to the schedule for five days each week will begin right after Labor Day. Roberts recently told Vanity Fair that she is more than a little excited to sneak back into the schedule during a 4-day work week.
“But I love that I start on a four-day week… Right? Snuck another one in there.”
She should be ready and rearing to go by the time she hits the GMA stage. According to the outlet, Roberts recently took a vacation to Hawaii that was a respite from the troubles of the last year. She says she took a group of friends to the idyllic island because it was a place she thought of often during her recovery to keep her troubles out of mind.
“Because in the hospital, I had a picture of Maui; I had a picture of the beach, and that was my motivation. So to have us all there was all I really needed.”
We’ll see how Roberts does when she returns to ABC’s Good Morning America next week. She's always been easy going and affable in front of the camera, and while you would expect her to be a little rusty, it's likely she'll be back on her game by the end of that aforementioned four day week. The show airs on weekday mornings, but you can check your local listings for air times.
