Kathie Lee Gifford is beaming with positivity after a recent hospitalization for a fractured pelvis.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 70-year-old TV personality shared her gratitude for being back home, saying, “I’m doing well! I’m happy to be out of the hospital. As lovely as all those people are to me, they really took good care of me, but there’s no place like home.”
Gifford is currently undergoing daily physical therapy to aid in her recovery. She explained, “They gotta get you up and moving. You don’t want your bones to atrophy.” Although the road to recovery is uncertain, she’s taking it one day at a time, listening to her doctors and focusing on her well-being.
The TV host had previously undergone hip replacement surgery, which she described as “one of the most painful situations of my entire life.” However, her determination and resilience have helped her bounce back quickly. She joked, “I walked, I climbed, I walked, and my doctor said, ‘Kathie, no. You have got to realize that this is serious.'” Despite her setbacks, Gifford is committed to taking things at her own pace.
Unfortunately, Gifford’s enthusiasm got the best of her when she moved 300 books by herself at a Nashville book signing for her new novel. The next day, she tripped and fractured her pelvis. “It didn’t take much, because I was weak in that spot,” she explained. “And the next thing you know, I am back in the hospital with a fractured pelvis, the front and the back. That’s more painful than anything I went through with the hip.”
Gifford described the experience as “humbling,” admitting that she chose to spend a week in the hospital because she didn’t “trust herself.” She reflected, “You think you know your body and the next thing you know, your body changes when you get older. And as much as I don’t wanna think about it, I am.”
In spite of her current challenges, Gifford is looking forward to some relaxation time, joking that “it’s summer for everybody but me. But it’s OK.” She plans to unwind at her “little farm one of these days and stick[ing] my feet in the salt pool.”
Gifford shared a valuable lesson, saying, “The Lord is telling me it’s time to slow down. I’ve been running my whole life. The Lord is telling me, ‘You’ve planted a gazillion roses. Try smelling them.'” With her latest novel, Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior, released on July 16, Gifford is focusing on her creative pursuits and taking care of herself.
Throughout her illustrious TV career, Gifford has hosted popular shows like Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee and Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda. In addition to her on-screen success, she has published several autobiographical and children’s books.