Robin Roberts updates Oprah, 'GMA' anchors on her condition
Co-host Robin Roberts during a broadcast of "Good Morning America." (Aug. 20, 2012) Credit: AP
Following her bone-marrow transplant last month, "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts made her first live telephone update on her condition Thursday, speaking to her fellow anchors and guest co-host Oprah Winfrey.
"I can't wait to come back," Roberts said, adding, "It's just about understanding the moment. Why I am here now."
"This is so great to hear your voice," "GMA's" George Stephanopoulos replied, telling Roberts that her speaking out about her myelodysplastic syndrome has helped raise awareness of the disorder that affects blood-cell production.
"I think of my dear mother and she taught me well," Roberts, 51, said. "It is about being of service to others. It would be a whole lot easier not to be so public when you are going through things like this. The people I have met, George, who are going through this, their family members who are so appreciative of what we as a family are doing. . . . It's a privilege to be a messenger."
Winfrey brought New York City's Power in Praise Mass Choir on the show to sing one of Roberts' favorite songs, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
"I appreciate all that you have done this morning," Roberts told Winfrey. "You have lifted my spirits. . . . You got me on my feet, you got me dancing. . . . It's all about being uplifted."
Thirty-five days after surgery, she said "I am so incredibly blessed to be doing as well as I am."
