Dolly Parton Tells Fans She 'Ain't Dead Yet' Following Health Scare

Dolly Parton has reassured fans she’s not going anywhere soon, putting everyone’s minds to rest following concerns over her health.

The 79-year-old music icon first raised the collective concerns of her fanbase when she announced the cancellation of her December Las Vegas residency due to some ongoing health issues.

“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,” she shared at the time.

“As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!” she quipped.

Earlier this week, however, Parton’s younger sister Frieda added some more worry into the mix when she asked for fans to join in sending prayers to the veteran singer.

“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly,” Frieda wrote on social media. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately.

“I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you! ❤️”

Hours later, Frieda took to social media again to clarify her message, apologising for worrying any of Parton’s fans with her initial post.

“I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” she wrote. “She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.

“It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference.”

Now, Parton herself has uploaded a video to speak to fans as a way to assuage any fears about her current health status.

“I wanted to say, I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am,” Parton said in the clip captioned ‘I ain’t dead yet!’ “Do I look sick to you?

“Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease – those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate, and I appreciate your prayers because I’m a person of faith.”

As she continued, she explained that that the passing of her husband, Carl Dean, earlier this year came after a long time of her neglecting to take care of myriad health responsibilities.

“I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of,” she explained. “So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.’ Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there. But I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.”

“There are just a lot of rumours flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” she concluded. “So anyhow, that’s what I wanted to say, and I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working. So I love you for caring and keep praying for me.”

Parton’s message comes following a report by the Las Vegas Review Journal, who noted a representative from the singer had described the whole affair as being somewhat blown out of proportion.

“It’s just the kidney stones, and the procedure she needs to resolve those,” representative Olly Rowland explained. “It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”