Dolly Parton got real with her fans this week, posting a message about her latest health challenges.
“I have got some good news, and a little bad news,” the spry 80-year-old entertainer announced in a post on social media.
Thank you for standing by me and showing me so much love and support over the past year. I’ve still got some healing to do, but I am on my way! See you soon. 💖 🦋 pic.twitter.com/HXpJqTUJXZ
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) May 4, 2026
In a bubbly, upbeat tone, Parton attempted to keep the focus on the positive.
“The good news is, I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day,” she said.
“The bad news is, it’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level.”
She explained that some of those medications 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 going to be wearing them.”
“Not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big, uh… personality,” she giggled, glancing down briefly at her ample bosom, which has been the butt of many jokes. “Lord, those — uh, that — would make anybody swimmy-headed.”
Parton described herself as “an old, classic car, that, once restored, can be better than ever.”
“But,” she continued the analogy, “when they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I needed 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.”
Getting slightly more serious, Parton said she’s long had problems with kidney stones. But she added a joke about those, too, saying, “Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee.”
She went on to share that her immune system and digestive system “got all out of whack” in recent years, and her medical team is working on rebuilding and strengthening those.
“Hopefully, I’ll be up to snuff again soon,” she smiled.
She explained her upbeat, chipper tone, saying, “I’m just trying to keep everything light and airy. They say that a happy heart is like good medicine.”
Despite her age and the list of health challenges, Parton maintains a work schedule that would exhaust most people five decades younger.
While she reportedly has stepped away from her Las Vegas residency, according to People magazine, “I am still working. I still do videos, I still record, I still run up and down to [her eponymous Tennessee amusement park] 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.’”
The entertainer again poked fun at herself, saying, “Now I know you’re thinking, ‘Lord, sick or well, that girl’s always promoting something!’”
“Well, that’s true,” she admitted, “But that’s how you get it done!”
She went on to acknowledge the death of her husband Carl last year, but said the encouragement she received from fans helped her a lot through that time. “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,” she concluded.
“You have been a big part of my healing.”
“I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me, and I will always love you.”
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