Kathie Lee Gifford recently opened up about her challenging recovery after undergoing a “total” hip replacement surgery.
The former Today co-host shared her experiences and the unexpected difficulties she faced post-surgery.
Gifford described her recovery as “one of the most painful situations of my entire life.”
After enduring persistent pain, she visited a doctor who initially thought her pain was spine-related. She told Today, “They had been looking for the problem in my spine. They finally found out what it was, and by that time, I’d been in such agonizing pain.”
Upon discovering that the issue was with her hips, she was scheduled for a hip replacement. Her doctor, post-surgery, was astonished by the condition of her hips, telling her, “Kathie, how have you been existing all this time? [You had] some of the worst hips I’ve ever seen.”
Despite her rapid progress—being off her walker in two days and stopping medication in three—Gifford underestimated the seriousness of her recovery. She admitted to engaging in activities like walking, climbing, carrying books, and playing with her grandchildren prematurely, until her doctor cautioned her, saying, “Kathie, no. You have got to realize that this is serious.”
Reflecting on her experience, Gifford shared, “I have learned from this that you only can do so much. You’re just human. You’re just human. And I’m so grateful.” Her doctors explained that her active lifestyle contributed to the wear and tear on her hips, which were “down to the nubs.” Despite the pain and surgery, Gifford expressed no regrets, stating, “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.”
