Hoda Kotb Reveals Daughter Hope's Type 1 Diabetes: ‘It’s Constant Care’ (Exclusive)

Hoda Kotb is revealing much astir navigating her younger girl Hope’s aesculapian condition.

In February 2023, a abrupt onset of mysterious symptoms landed Hope, 6, successful nan infirmary for 2 weeks and forced Kotb to return a time off of absence from nan Today show.

Now that nan family has established a attraction regular that’s working, Kotb reveals successful this week's screen communicative that Hope is surviving pinch type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune illness that prevents nan pancreas from making insulin, requiring vigilant humor sweetener monitoring and predominant insulin injections.

“It’s benignant of changeless attraction for Hope. We’re monitoring her 24/7,” says Kotb, who calls her girl a “trouper” for nan measurement she’s dealing pinch nan unpleasant realities of treatment.

“She was getting shots — 4 aliases 5 a time — each time for a year. Now she is getting them little often because we person immoderate different intends to get her what she needs, but there’s a batch to it," she adds. "Some kids tin person sweets, and she can’t. If she’s up successful nan night, we person to return attraction of her astatine night.”

After a pause, Kotb, 60, adds, “She is simply a happy, healthy, rambunctious, astonishing kid, and we person to watch her. Diabetes is simply a portion of her but not each of her. I dream it shapes her but ne'er defines her.”

Being capable to beryllium wholly disposable for her girl became a nonnegotiable, Kotb says, thing that was not imaginable erstwhile she was locked into a semipermanent statement arsenic Today co-host that had difficult deadlines and a regular wake-up astatine 3:15 a.m.

“I really wanted to and needed to beryllium present to watch complete her. So whenever she needs anything, and it tin hap astatine night, aggregate times, I’m up — I’m up up up,” she says. “But I would never, ever want Hope to 1 time turn up and say, ‘Oh, my mom near her occupation because [of me].’ It wasn’t that alone. But if you look astatine it cumulatively, it was a portion of that decision.”

Kotb says it’s besides been a modulation to thief big sister Haley, 8, understand why truthful overmuch of Mom’s attraction is going to Hope. “I deliberation anybody who has 1 kid who has contiguous needs, sometimes you person to really activity connected it [to emotionally support nan other]. And I’m really trying to fig it out,” Kotb says.

The girls will sometimes squabble and play-fight complete who Mom loves nan most. “I conscionable request to make judge that Haley feels seen and loved. I support telling them my heart’s expertise to grow is beyond measure.”

To publication much astir Hoda Kotb's life after Today, prime up nan newest rumor of PEOPLE connected stands now.

In nan 5 months since Kotb exited Today, she says that it’s nan mini things that person been filling her days pinch nan astir joy.

“It’s really cool to conscionable recognize that there’s truthful overmuch much to life,” she says. “I wasn’t capable to carnivore witnesser to my kids’ regular lives because of what I was doing. I sewage to spot Haley singing ‘What a Wonderful World’ astatine 9:15 a.m. — I would person missed that. I utilized to deliberation life was nan large things, but it really is each nan worldly that happens successful between.”