Kathie Lee Gifford Hospitalized After Fracturing Pelvis

Kathie Lee Gifford is blaming herself after falling and fracturing her pelvis in two places while recovering from her recent hip replacement surgery.

The former Today co-host spoke to People, where she revealed she was hospitalized for over a week to undergo physical therapy. She said the pain was worse than anything she went through with her hip.

Gifford, 70, blamed herself for the fall, telling the outlet she “moved 300 books by myself” during book signings in Nashville. “I weakened my body,” she admitted. “It’s my own fault.”

When one of Gifford’s friends came to pick her up the next day, the legendary talk show host hurried to the door and “just tripped.”

“It didn’t take much because I was weak in that spot,” Gifford explained. “And the next thing you know, I am back in the hospital with a fractured pelvis, the front and the back. That’s more painful than anything I went through with the hip. The pelvis is unbelievably painful. But anyway, here I am.”

Earlier this month, Gifford revealed she underwent hip replacement surgery and how the recovery has been “one of the most painful situations” of her entire life.

The Daytime Emmy winner said it was her active lifestyle that led to the hip issues. She 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.”

Gifford didn’t let the surgery slow her down, as she’s been promoting her new historical nonfiction book, Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior. However, after the recent fall, the TV icon is finally taking a pause.

Referring to the fall as “a humbling experience,” Gifford told People that she chose to stay in the hospital for a full week because “I don’t trust myself.”

“You think you know your body and the next thing you know, your body changes when you get older,” she continued. “And as much as I don’t wanna think about it, I am.”

“It’s summer for everybody but me,” Gifford added. “But it’s OK. I’m going to get out to my little farm one of these days and stick my feet in my salt pool. The Lord is telling me it’s time to slow down. I’ve been running my whole life. The Lord is telling me, ‘You’ve planted a gazillion roses. Try smelling them.’ “