Legendary talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford is opening up about her recent hip replacement surgery and how the recovery has been “one of the most painful situations” of her entire life.
The former Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee host spoke to People ahead of the release of her new historical nonfiction book, Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior, where she revealed she has been in recuperation mode following her surgery.
Gifford admitted she “jumped off that gurney after my surgery” and tried to get back to her regular life before realizing she needed to take things slow, a word she doesn’t know the meaning of.
“I walked, I climbed, I walked, and my doctor said, ‘Kathie, no. You have got to realize that this is serious,’” she told the outlet. “And I was off my walker in two days. I was off all my medications in three days, and then I did too much. I just did too much because that’s who I am.”
She continued, “I started carrying books around and signing and getting ready, and my grandchildren came to visit. And you can’t. I have learned from this that you can only do so much. You’re just human. You’re just human. And I’m so grateful.”
The former Today co-host also revealed it was her active lifestyle that led to her needing hip surgery in the first place, noting that her “hips (were) down to the nubs.”
Gifford recalled her surgeon telling her, “You climbed mountains, you made movies, you got on stages. You never took off your high heels, and you kept going, and that’s why you’re going through what you’re going through.”
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Despite the difficult recovery, the Daytime Emmy winner said she has no regrets about the life she’s lived. “[I ask myself] would I change that?” she stated. “No, I was doing what God put me on this earth to do. Every year of it, I was doing what He called me to do.”
Back in April, Gifford released the book I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste, where she shared stories about her life and encouraged readers to remember their self-worth and never give up on their dreams.
Her new nonfiction book is set for release today, Tuesday, July 16, and will give “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.”
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