KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – Dolly Parton has good and bad news about her health. The Queen of Country gave her fans an update on her condition Monday.
“First, it’s concerning my health. And I have some good news, and a little bad news,” Dolly said in a video posted to social media. “The good news is, I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day.
Now, the bad news is, it’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage performance level, because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swim-headed, as my grandma used to say.”
Dolly has been dealing with a kidney stone issue the past few years, something that’s taken her away from events she tends to be a staple at.
“Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee,” she said. “But seriously, my immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple, three years. And they’re working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those.”
A point Dolly wanted to make is that she’s still hard at work, even while battling health conditions.
“I run up and down to Dollywood now and then. And I’m working hard on getting my museum and my hotel open in Nashville later this year,” she said. “And I am spending a lot of time writing and reworking on my Broadway musical.”
True to her own personality, though, Dolly delivered the news with quite a few jokes.
“Oh, I know you’re thinking, ‘Lord, sick or well, that girl’s always promoting something,’” she said. “Well, that’s true, but that’s how you get it done.”
Dolly’s own health issues, she said, come with a silver lining. The country queen said her fans have come out in droves to offer support, something they did when her husband, Carl, died.
“But after going through a year first, I mean, the holidays, and especially our wedding anniversary and the day of his death, March 3rd, you know, that was hard for me,” she said. “But you would be surprised at how much your love and concern meant to me during that time. Lord, my house and my porch look like the botanical gardens with all the flowers, and my den look like the post office with all the cards and letters.”
The key to the message, though, was a “thank you” to her fans.
“I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me and that I will always love you,” she said.
