Country Singer Loretta Lynn Living Last Days In Nursing Home After Stroke
Jun. 13 2019, Updated 4:37 p.m. ET
Fading country star Loretta Lynn will spend her final days in an assisted living facility, RadarOnline.com has learned, and the singer’s famous friends are lining up to say their farewells.
At 87, the music legend’s health problems have become so dire that her family is ready to relocate her to a 24/7 care facility, according to insiders.
The “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer — who last appeared on stage on April 2 for her star-studded birthday party — was stricken by a debilitating stroke in May 2017. But as she fought back to regain her speech and motor skills, she fell and suffered a broken hip, which left her largely unable to walk under her own power.
“It’s so sad to see Loretta breaking down,” a source told Radar. “She needs a walker or a wheelchair to get around now, and on top of that, she suffers from glaucoma, so her vision is severely compromised.
The combination of poor eyesight and poor balance is a disaster waiting to happen.
“Loretta already has in-house nursing care, and of course, her four kids are there with her most every day. But there’s still a fear that another fall is going to kill her, and she would be better off in a facility where she can be monitored at all times,” the source said.
The country music queen’s life was already disrupted last year when her declining condition prompted her to move from her sprawling, 3,500-acre ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, to a home closer to Nashville.
“That just cut Loretta’s heart out, since she and her late husband, Doo, called Hurricane Mills home for more than 50 years,” a friend told Radar. “But her ranch is 75 miles from her hospital in Nashville, and if something were to happen to her, there was the fear she might die en route during the long haul.”
A source explained the decision to put Loretta into assisted care could come within weeks, and family members are receiving calls from Loretta’s legendary friends who want to visit and pay their respects.
“Loretta has lost so many of her best pals in country music, but she still counts Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson among her old friends and confidants, and they want to see her again before it’s too late,” the source said.
Despite her challenges, feisty Loretta refuses to give up on the notion of hitting the stage again, said the friend, and “her family allows her to dream.”
Added the pal: “She talks to them about booking some concert dates. But of course, with her health and how unsteady she is on her feet, it’s just an impossibility. It allows Loretta to still hope — even though it’s becoming clear the end is near.”