Kathie Lee Gifford is currently recovering after undergoing hip replacement surgery.
In an interview with People published on Tuesday, the 70-year-old former “Live!” co-host described her recovery as “one of the most painful situations of my entire life.”
Gifford confessed that she didn’t take it easy after the surgery, which extended her recovery time. “I jumped off that gurney after my surgery,” she admitted. “I was off my walker in two days, off all my medications in three days, and then I did too much. I just did too much because that’s who I am.”
“I walked, I climbed, I walked, and my doctor said, ‘Kathie, no. You have to realize that this is serious,'” she recounted.
The Emmy winner explained that her active lifestyle was a significant factor in her needing the surgery.
Gifford revealed that her “hips were down to the nubs,” and her surgeon told her, “You climbed mountains, made movies, got on stages, never took off your high heels, and kept going. That’s why you’re going through what you’re going through.”
Despite the challenging recovery, she has learned the importance of recognizing her limits. “You can only do so much. You’re just human. And I’m so grateful,” she shared.
Gifford has no regrets about the events leading up to her surgery. “(I ask myself) would I change that? 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,” she said.
In a conversation with USA TODAY in May, she discussed the role of faith in her life, particularly in maintaining her relationship with her son Cody and daughter Cassidy.
“It’s the most precious thing we have because you never know when you’re going to run out of it,” she reflected, recalling the day her husband Frank passed away in 2015. “Frank was up and getting ready for church the morning that he passed away. I went upstairs to get ready, too, and when I came back down, he was gone,” Gifford remembered. “Cody was helping me with him, and he said, ‘Mom, look, he’s smiling.’ And I said, ‘He saw Jesus, and Jesus took his breath away.'”
She added, “When you have faith as strong as ours, and we’re grateful for it, you have hope. There is always hope.”
