“I just see no point. Grades are done. Teachers are done. Let them live.”
While a guest on the “Today Show” on May 28, months after retiring as one of its co-hosts, Hoda Kotb is opening up about one of her daughters’ on going health battle.
As she announced her newest venture, a wellness brand called Joy 101, in a conversation with her former colleagues, Kotb revealed her youngest daughter Hope Catherine, 6, has Type 1 diabetes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Type 1 diabetes is “thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake).”
“This reaction destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, called beta cells,” the CDC explains. “This process can go on for months or years before any symptoms appear.”
According to the CDC, “a trigger in the environment, such as a virus, may also play a part in developing type 1 diabetes. Diet and lifestyle habits don't cause type 1 diabetes.”
After announcing her decision to leave the “Today Show” in October 2024, Kotb said she wanted more time with her daughters, which also includes Haley Joy, 8. Now, Kotb is admitting Hopes Type 1 diabetes diagnosis also "definitely weighed in” on her decision to retire.
"As anyone with a child who has Type 1 (knows), especially a little kid, you're constantly watching, you're constantly monitoring, you're constantly checking, which is what I did all the time when I was (at TODAY). You’re distracted,” Kotb explained while talking with current “Today Show” co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin.
RELATED: Surprise! Hoda Kotb will make her return to TV on Wednesday, May 28
"You just get a priority check in your life," Kotb continued. "I can be here and sweating what’s happening to Hope in the morning and in the night, or I can be there and feel relief that I can see."
Now, as they continue to navigate this hurdle in life, Kotb says, “Hope is fine for most of the day. There are just moments where you have to watch her.”
"I was totaling it up — five minutes at breakfast, five minutes at lunch, five minutes at dinner, sometimes overnight. Add that up, that's a half-hour. So for 23 and a half hours, she's every other kid. So I try to remember that."
Hope was first hospitalized for several days in 2023. Kotb didn’t go into detail about what Hope was dealing with at the time.
Now as they continue to manage Hope’s Type 1 diabetes, Kotb shares advice for other parents with kids living with chronic illnesses.
"Don't put your worry on your kid," Kotb says. “Watch them, but don't put your worry on them. Let them be kids and give them what they need when they need it."
