Robin Roberts Having Her Bone Marrow Transplant Surgery Today

Our thoughts and prayers are with Robin Roberts today. The trailblazing TV anchor is due to receive the transplant she’s been preparing for since being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder.

Via People.com:

Thursday is Robin Roberts’s new birthday. It is the day she is receiving her bone-marrow transplant.

The TV anchor, 51, also delivered a taped message from her New York hospital bed, which was shown on on Thursday’s Good Morning America during a segment about her medical journey to treat her rare blood disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome.

Wearing a bright pink baseball cap, Roberts, who’s had eight days of intense chemotherapy during her 11 days in the hospital, said: “This journey is as much about the mind as it is the body. Your thoughts … are so powerful. You’ve got to change the way you think in order to change the way you feel. And let me just say this lastly, I feel the love and I thank you for it. Thank you.”

To see her message, click here.

During her hospital stay, Roberts has been surrounded by friends and family, said her co-anchor, George Stephanopoulos. Her bone marrow donor was her sister, Sally. Many transplant recipients refer to the day of their transplant as their new birthday.

Roberts’s doctor, Dr. Gail Roboz, also said on the air, “Medically speaking, she is doing fantastic,” though the specialist noted, “I think she misses her mother.” Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts died Aug. 30, the day after Roberts started her leave from GMA.

In addition, Dr. Roboz said that even reading a few emails and sitting up in bed is exhausting for Roberts. Despite this, GMA weatherman Sam Champion, who visited his colleague in the hospital, said, “She is in remarkable spirits.”

Throughout the rest of Thursday’s broadcast, her co-stars shouted out messages of love to Roberts. Viewers’ messages may be sent to her at #teamrobin.

We are praying for you Robin!!!

Image via ABC News