TODAY host Hoda Kotb revealed in a new People interview that she and her daughters turned to their belief in God to help them through 4-year-old Hope's health scare.
"I tell them, 'God's everywhere,'" she said. "And I think it's been helpful to Hope, especially in this kind of period of her life."
Last February, Hope experienced a medical crisis; she was in the hospital for a week and spent a few days in the ICU. Hoda has not yet shared Hope's diagnosis, but she noted that Hope is being monitored around the clock. As a result, Hoda rarely sleeps through the night and wakes up an hour earlier to meditate and soothe some of her own anxieties.
Faith has also helped the family.
Hoda said of Hope, "She likes to be protected. She looks up sometimes, and I go, 'What are you looking at? What's that?' She goes, 'Angels are here.' And I go, 'Where?' She goes, 'Here.' And I'm laying there. I'm as quiet as I can be not to disturb the most beautiful moment."
This isn't the first time that faith has proved essential in Hoda's life.
On a recent episode of TODAY, Hoda said that even before Hope arrived, "I dreamt about her and I prayed for her and I hoped for her. I could feel her like she was almost palpable before she was there.”
She continued, “The name Hope was a layup. Prayers, wishes and hopes are things that are meant to be. I was like, that’s her name and she’s lived up to that name.”
In fact, Hope was the inspiration behind her new book, “Hope Is a Rainbow,” which teaches kids about the importance of optimism.
Though Hoda knows there’s no guarantee that Hope’s most difficult months are behind her, she remains positive that her daughter’s trials have a purpose. She told People, “She just demonstrates that when you have whatever she has inside of her, this will, this fight, this everything ... she can withstand anything.”
