In the process of recuperating from her most recent hip replacement surgery, Kathie Lee Gifford fell and ended up in the hospital, she exclusively tells PEOPLE.
The 70-year-old former Today co-host claims she was hospitalized for more than a week in order to receive physical therapy after suffering a double fracture to her pelvis.
In Nashville, Gifford claims to have “moved 300 books by herself” at book signings. “I made my body weaker,” she claims. “I’m to blame for it.”
One of Gifford’s pals came by to take her up the following day. Gifford claims that she “just tripped” as she rushed to the door.
Gifford tells PEOPLE, “I was weak in that spot, so it didn’t take much.” The next thing you know, I’m back in the hospital with a front and back pelvic fracture. That hurts more than anything my hip has ever experienced. The agony in the pelvic is unbelievable. However, here I am.
Gifford describes it as a “humbling experience,” and she decided to spend an entire week at the hospital as “I don’t trust myself.”
“You think you understand your body, and then you realize that as you age, your body changes,” Gifford explains. “And even though I’d prefer not to, I am thinking about it.”
Everyone else is enjoying summer, but not me, says Gifford. However, it’s alright. One day, I’ll visit my small farm and dip my feet into my saltwater pool. I’m getting a message from the Lord to calm down. I’ve spent my entire life jogging. I’m hearing from the Lord that I’ve planted a billion roses. Take a sniff at them.
Gifford told PEOPLE earlier this month that the rehabilitation from her hip replacement surgery has been “one of the most painful situations of my entire life.”
“It’s been quite difficult,” she continued.
Because to her active lifestyle, the TV personality required surgery. She remembered the surgeon saying, “You made movies, you got on stages, you climbed mountains.” You persevered and never took off your stilettos, which is why you are experiencing what you are.
Even with the difficult recuperation, Gifford is glad she lived her life to the utmost.
Would I alter it, I ask myself? No, I was carrying out my divinely assigned duties. “I was doing what He called me to do every year of it,” she remarked at the time.
Despite being in the hospital, Gifford continues to celebrate the publication of her latest book, Helen and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior.
According to an official description, the historical nonfiction book provides “deep insight to how Herod came to power, how corruption and an ancient evil threatened the stability of a nation, and how a teenage Mary was called to traverse these obstacles to bring the Savior, Jesus, our living hope, into the world.”
A few years ago, Gifford said, she had an epiphany for the book while traveling to Israel on a rabbinical trip. Cody, then 34, “convinced” her that “these are stories that need to be told because people need hope.”
“I pray that I will be of use for as long the Lord has me on this earth. I am not sure how long the Lord has me on this earth. that I would treat people with kindness, generosity, and love,” she said to PEOPLE. “I’m a strong woman, but I’m a woman who has spent the last 60 years attempting to serve the kingdom of God, do the right thing, and show love to others.”
