After the stroke and hip injury, Loretta told People that she temporarily moved from her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, to a home closer to her doctors in Nashville. “I wasn’t goin’ to let it stop me. You just can’t sit down and say ‘Hey, take me,’” she said at the time. Lynn recalled the moment she had a stroke to People, explaining that she was at home when she suddenly realized she couldn’t use her left hand or arm. “It’s a very scary thing when you find out you’re havin’ a stroke,” she said. “I wondered if I could sing. Mommy said I was born singin’. That’s all I’ve ever done. I couldn’t believe that that could be taken away.” While her voice remained the same, Loretta revealed that her left side was affected by the stroke. “Your mind tells you, ‘You can!’ but your body soon tells you, ‘No you can’t quite do this,’” she said. “Got to work at it.”
After the stroke, Loretta told People that she started immediately physical therapy to rehabilitate the left side of her body. “I told the girl that was doing therapy with me, ‘Do not help me anymore. The next time you see me, I will be using my hand and arm,’ and I was, and she could not believe it,” she said. However, Loretta’s left side wasn’t the only part of her body affected by the stroke. She also told People that the stroke affected her hearing and timing, which was a struggle when she started singing and performing again. “I always had a different mindset — that I can do this. Just keep it up,” she said. She also responded to fans who doubted she would perform again after her stroke and hip injury, which occurred on New Year’s Day after she fell in her home. “I think people thought I wouldn’t come back from that,” Lynn says. “And they’re really shocked when I tell them, ‘Well, I’m doing good, I’m moving my arms, I’m moving all my parts and I can still sing,’” she said.
Still, Loretta admitted to People at the time that her left side was weaker from the stroke, which also affected her memory. “Every now and then, I’ll look around and think of my home and I’ll say, ‘Am I at the ranch?’ And [my daughter] Patsy will say, ‘No, Momma, you’re here in Kingston Springs.’ And it’ll kinda bring me back to reality,” she said. She also told People that the stroke made her move slower and rely on a walker and sometimes a wheelchair. “I hate that damn wheelchair,” she said.
A year later, Loretta also responded to rumors she was in a “nursing home” and on her “death bed” in June 2019. “Hey, this says I’m in a nursing home and on my death bed? You’re kidding me!” she said in a Facebook video as she read an article about her on an iPad. “I ain’t dead and neither is Willie. We’re both coming back to life and we’re going to raise hell.” She captioned the video, “Well, through the years they’ve said I’m broke, homeless, cheating, drinking, gone crazy, terminally ill, and even dead! Poor things can’t ever get it right. I guess if those old pesky tabloids are harassing me then they’re giving someone else a break……but I’m about an inch from taking ’em to Fist City!” She also included the hashtags: “#raisinghell #yourmommashouldataughtyoubetter #tellthetruth #fistcity #trashtalkingtabloids #fakenews #liarliarpantsonfire”
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