• A month after undergoing emergency surgery, Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak opened up about the "excruciating" experience in an interview with Good Morning America.
  • In his absence, co-host Vanna White stepped in to fill his role on the game show.

After undergoing an emergency surgery in November, Pat Sajak has made a full recovery, however he recently shared the details with his fans.

In an interview with Good Morning America, the long-time Wheel of Fortune host explained that he was taking a morning walk with his daughter, Maggie when he felt a terrible pain that immediately landed him in the hospital. "Within two and a half hours, I was in surgery," the 73-year-old said. "It was that quick and intense."

It turned out a blocked intestine was the cause of the severe pain. "I was in the fetal position, lying on the bed," the game show host said of the health scare. In the moment, Sajak revealed that all he could think of was his family. "In the background, I could hear my wife and daughter talking," he said. "And I remember thinking, not in a morbid way, 'I think this must be death. This must be what death is like.'"

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Luckily, Sajak's surgery was successful and the host of 40 years reassured fans that he was doing fine shortly after his surgery. In addition, the Wheel of Fortune Instagram account let folks know that "Pat is home!" and recovering nicely.

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Sajak also updated his social media followers via tweet on December 5, revealing that he was feeling good enough to return to work and that it was "nice to be back."

In a sign that he has made a full recovery, Sajak was laughing and poking fun at himself during his Good Morning America interview. "I've been back in the studio actually, doing shows. Even spinning the wheel and, you know, nothing has popped. So I think it's OK," he said.

Taking time to pose for a photo with his interviewer, ABC News journalist Paula Farris, Sajak made sure viewers knew that he wasn't planning on going anywhere: "I still have my wits about me. They didn't remove that, so I'll be selling vowels for a long time."

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While Sajak was recovering, co-host Vanna White filled in for him and he didn't miss an opportunity to tease about that as well. "It felt really bizarre to know that stuff was going on without me. And going on well without me," he said complimenting White.

The beloved host has returned to the show, but don't expect to see new episodes with him for a couple of weeks. Sajak has conveniently explained the updated schedule of episodes for the month ahead in the tweet below.

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In light of everything, we're relieved that Sajak is feeling, in his own words, "ridiculously good."

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Monica Chon

Monica Chon is the former editorial fellow at Oprah Daily, previously OprahMag.com.