Earlier this month, much of America rejoiced at the news that Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts will return to her post beginning February 20. But before jumping back into her morning routine, she’s recapping her struggle to stay alive following her bone marrow transplant to cure her myelodysplastic syndrome.
The breast cancer survivor tells People it was anything but easy. In fact, she recalls a moment when she felt like she was dying. Her doctor warned of the feeling. “I was in a pain I had never experienced before, physically and mentally,” said Roberts. “I was in a coma-like state. I truly felt I was slipping away. Then I kept hearing, ‘Robin! Robin!’ I came out of it, and it was my nurse Jenny. She was screaming at me. I saw her enlarged eyes above her mask, pleading for me to stay here. And thankfully I did. I came back.”
Despite putting on a happy face for her fans and supporters around the clock, Roberts notes she hasn’t always been positive. “It’s important people know I’m not always like that,” said Roberts. “But I choose to be happy and not string together the bad days.”
In the time since her bone marrow transplant, not including a brief hospital stay in October, Roberts has began to feel more and more like her self. “I’ve still got chemo brain and my vision is blurry,” she added.
As her condition continues to improve and she gets back to work next Wednesday, Roberts remains fearful she’ll suffer another health setback in the future. “I don’t know if my heart will ever stop pounding, waiting to hear what the numbers are,” said Roberts about her blood counts. But she remains optimistic of the future, “I want to give people hope. I want to let them know there is another day. I can be fearful or fearless. I choose to be fearless.”