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Author, journalist, and former Today Show co-anchor Kathie Lee Gifford has something to share.
She was, until very recently, in deep physical agony.
Her chronic pain interfered with meeting fans. Worse, it made it hard for her to play with her grandchildren.
It reached a point where she wanted to die.
‘I’ve never abused [my body], I just used it’
Just over a year ago, Gifford underwent a hip replacement surgery.
Followed by that, she went under the knife again.
Gifford broke her arm just by rolling over onto it at an extremely odd angle, she says.
Another broken bone came from a fall on uneven pavement — which can lead to catastrophic injuries even to someone who is not in her 70s.
When Gifford realized how far her depth perception had fallen, she underwent cataract surgery.
“You have to have a sense of humor about everything,” Gifford told People.
She expressed: “Thank God I’ve never lost that, even in my bleakest moments. I’m a tough broad.”
Even so, she is the first to admit that she’s put wear and tear on her body over the years.
“I’ve never abused [my body], I just used it,” Gifford explained.
In other words, she’s saying that she’s been so active that it’s taken a toll. That’s one of the grim truths of bodies and age — you need to be just the right amount of active.
‘I wanted to die a few times’
“I want to be Kathie Lee, the person they expect,” she explained. “I don’t want to disappoint people.”
This goes for meeting fans on the street as well as for spending time with her grandchildren.
Gifford added: “But when you’re in pain, it’s so debilitating, and everything’s a grimace.”
She detailed: “I’ve had emotional pain many times in my life, but never this chronic physical pain where you literally want to go home to Jesus.”
“I wanted to die a few times,” Gifford admitted. “I wasn’t going to hurt myself. I wasn’t going to kill myself. I just didn’t want to be here — as blessed as I am.”
kathie lee and hoda’s #joyride (second extended cut) pic.twitter.com/EpvgcxFiE3
— caleb (@calebstark) July 22, 2024
After a series of surgeries, Gifford is doing six-days-a-week physical therapy and stem cell therapy.
She reports that she is now running “all over the place” with her grandchildren.
“They’re all fantastic,” she gushed to People.
She added: “I’m hoping, Lord willing, that I have many, many years with them.”
We of course wish her the very best.