Dolly Parton shared update on her health days before her death at age 80
The music legend died at the age of 80.
Music legend Dolly Parton shared an update on her health just days before her death at age 80.
"Remembering Dolly: An American Original - A Special Edition of 20/20" airs tonight, Aug. 25 at 10/9c on ABC. Stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
Parton's death was announced by her nephew via video on Tuesday. No cause of death was provided.
Just days before, on Aug. 21, Parton shared a statement with People saying she was taking time to address health issues she "didn't pay attention to" in the time before the death of her husband, Carl Dean, last year.
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“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” Parton said in the statement, going on to add hopeful words about her future.
"Even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’!," she said. "You know me — as I’ve often said — I’ve dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.”
Earlier this month, Parton was scheduled to attend the Aug. 14 opening of a new ride at her Dollywood theme park but shared a recorded video instead.
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“I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated,” she said, according to a video shared on social media. “So my Nashville doctor has kind of clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’"
Parton's last major in-person public appearance was in June, when she made a surprise appearance at the grand opening of a gas station and restaurant called Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop.
Parton's surprise appearance came after she canceled her Las Vegas residency in May amid ongoing health issues.
"My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple three years, and they're working real hard on rebuilding [and] strengthening those, and hopefully I'll be up to snuff again soon," Parton said in part in a May 4 video announcement.
Last October, Parton posted a video proclaiming, "I ain't dead yet," after her sister asked for prayers for the country music star. Parton then clarified, saying she was simply "a little under the weather" and not seriously ill.
"I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate," she said, adding that during her late husband's illness, she "let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of."
"When I got around to it, the doctor said, 'We need to take care of this, we need to take care of that,'" she said, adding that her health issues were "nothing major" but that she needed to be close to Vanderbilt, where she was receiving treatment.
Parton had been dealing with kidney stones, a source close to the situation told ABC News at the time.
