Nearly a week after the accidental drowning death of the sister of CNN Tonight host Don Lemon, the reporter returned to the anchor chair on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, Lemon’s oldest sister L’Tanya “Leisa” Lemon Grimes tripped and fell into a Louisiana pond. Lemon posted about the tragic death the next day and asked followers to keep his family in their prayers.

On Tuesday, a grieving Lemon dedicated part of the show to his oldest sister.

“I’m sitting here with you tonight because this is exactly where she would have wanted me to be,” Lemon said. “I want all of you to know that your prayers and your words of encouragement have really meant the world to me and my family over the last few days. So many of you have reached out to me that I can’t respond to all of them, so I just want to respond now and please pass this on.”

The 51-year-old then went on to thank his boss and loved ones who supported him throughout the devastation.

“You don’t know how much this meant to me Jeff Zucker, but I will never forget that you wouldn’t leave my office and you wouldn’t go home until I got in the car, on the plane,” Lemon said. “So, I want to thank you and Karen and my little brother — my bro — Andrew.”

“To Tim, the love of my life, who got on a plane without asking and then sat in my mom’s driveway for two hours,” he said. “I love you, waiting for us to come home.”