Dolly Parton Health Update and Projects

Well, hey there, it's Dolly, and I'm here to give you an

update on a few things going on in my life.

First, it's concerning my health,

and I have some good news

and a little bad news. But 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 gonna 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

swimmy headed, as my grandma used to say.

And of course, I can't be dizzy carrying around banjos,

guitars, and

such on five-inch heels,

and you know that I'm gonna be wearing them.

Not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big

hair, my big, uh, personality.

Lord, those, uh, uh, that would make anybody swim headed.

But just think of me as like an old classic car

that, once restored, can be better than ever.

But when they raised the hood on this old

antique, they realized that I need to rebuild

my engine and that my transmission is slipping,

my oil pan is leaking, and my muffler's busted,

and my shocks and pistons need to be replaced.

And for sure, my spark plugs need to be changed

because you know

as well as I know that I can't lose my spark.

I know, I'm still crazy, but they didn't mention nothing about

my mental health. But, you know, I've told you before that I've always

had problems with my kidney stones.

Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than

the rock quarry in

Rockwood, Tennessee.

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.

And hopefully I'll be up to snuff again soon.

Maybe I shouldn't have said snuff.

Snuff wouldn't be very good for either of those, would it?

Plus, I wouldn't want my lower lip to fall off

on top of everything

else. That'd be like losing a hubcap, wouldn't it?

Anyway, I know I'm being silly, but I'm just trying to keep

everything light and airy. They say that a happy heart is like

good medicine.

Do you think I might be over-medicating myself right now?

But the truth is, I am still working.

I still do videos. I still record. 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,

and I am spending a lot of time writing and reworking on my

Broadway musical.

It's called Dolly: A True Original Musical, and that's

gonna be opening later in New York this fall or early winter.

Oh, I know what you're thinking. Lord, sick or well, that

girl's always promoting something.

Well, that's true, but that's how you get it done.

And oh, on a more serious note, I am truly sorry that I'm

gonna miss all of you that had tickets to see me in Las Vegas.

Well, you get on to Vegas and you have a big time, and

hopefully sometime you'll come up to New York and maybe see my

show, and I'll see you somewhere down the line.

But I just want you to know also that a lot of you have been

concerned about me and Carl, and you were so great about that.

But after going through a year of firsts,

I mean, the holidays and especially our wedding anniversary

and the day of his death, March 3rd, you know, that was hard for me.

But I will always love him, and I'll

always miss him, but you would be surprised

at how much your love and concern meant to me during that time.

Lord, my house and my porch looked like the

botanical gardens with all the

flowers, and my den looked like the post office

with all the cards

and letters. So yes, from the bottom of my heart, I thank

you. You have been a big part of my healing.

Speaking of Carl and my health, I remember back years ago,

I was, uh, saying something. I was griping about something hurting

or this and that, and Carl said, "Now, honey, you've got to remember,

you're not getting any younger."

I said, "Well, honey,

you've got to remember that as long as there

are plastic surgeons in this world,

I'm not getting any older."

But anyway, um, I... of course, plastic

surgeons can make you look as good as they can on the outside, but it's

serious business when you're talking about internal

medicine.

So I have great doctors,

and I'm doing really well, and they assure me that

everything I have is treatable, so I'm going

with that. And I just want you to know I thank you

for standing by me and

that I will always love you.

Thank you.