Dolly Parton Has Bravely Battled Health Struggles In the Past

Dolly Parton’s devoted fans are concerned after the legendary singer made the rare move of pulling out her planned mini-residency in Las Vegas in December.

That announcement comes hard on the heels of a cancelled visit to her beloved Dollywood theme park.

While Dolly has not said exactly what’s going on with her health, she did share with fans in a lengthy Instagram post, ““As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures.”

But Dolly has been transparent about health struggles in the past, including a battle with mental health issues.

Dolly Parton Has Been Working Harder Than Ever

Until Dolly Parton’s announcement about postponing her sold-out Las Vegas shows, Dolly Parton had been going “non-stop” according to those closest to the singer.

In fact a source told the Examiner, “Dolly simply will not stop — she’s hardly taken a breath since Carl passed away. Everyone has been begging her to slow down, but her answer is that Carl would want her to keep working, because it makes her happy. But it’s very clear she’s struggling and hasn’t given herself time to grieve.”

Even Dolly herself admitted on Khloe Kardashian’s podcast “Khloe In Wonderland,” admitted she’d had to take a break from songwriting in the wake of her beloved husband Carl Dean’s death.

“Several things I’ve wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” she told Khloe. “I will later, but I’m just coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas. But I think I won’t finish it. I can’t do it right now, because I got so many other things and I can’t afford the luxury of getting that emotional right now.”

A Kidney Stone Kept Dolly Home From Dollywood

Dolly Parton had to cancel an appearance at her beloved theme park “Dollywood” on September 17 to kick off the park’s yearly Harvest Festival.

And in that case, a kidney stone and subsequent infection were to blame.

In a video posted on X, Dolly told park goers, “I have had a little problem. I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems. Turned out it had given me an infection.”

Dolly continued, “And the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days to get better. He suggested I not go to Dollywood today.”

The “Jolene” singer told fans, “And I’m there with you in spirit, because I was looking so forward to it,” she added.

Dolly Has Struggled With Endometriosis

Dolly Parton struggled with other health problems in the past.

According to Prevention, Dolly cancelled a tour in 1982 while suffering from endometriosis. According to the Cleveland Clinic, that’s when “tissue that is similar to the lining of your uterus grows on other parts of your body.”

Because of that, Dolly underwent a partial hysterectomy and lost the ability to have children.

According to Today, Dolly has admitted that was a difficult time, saying, she fell into a depression. “Sometimes God just has to smack you down,” she said. “He was almost saying, ‘Sit your pretty little ass down because we have to deal with some stuff!’”

Parton Faced Mental Health Issues

The famously sunny singer has even admitted to a very dark time in her past when she contemplated suicide.

According to Today, in a podcast series titled “Dolly Parton’s America” Dolly Parton discussed a difficult time in the early 1980s when she actually contemplated suicide.

“I got overweight and I was going through the change of life, I was having a lot female problems, I’d been going through a whole lot of family things, just the stress, the heartache,” she said at the time. “There was just several things going on at that time. I was just broken down.”

The singer said talked to God about it, saying, “I just said things like, ‘Look, this is ridiculous, I am not happy,’ (and) arguing about why when they say you shouldn’t commit suicide because that’s a sin you can’t get forgiven for. Everything was just confusing to me and I was just angry and I was hurt, and I was unhappy and so I just said ‘You’re going to have to get me some answers or I’m getting out of here. And then we’ll both deal with it.’”

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