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Loretta Lynn In 'Great Spirits' After Breaking Hip at Home — as Family Jokingly Blames New Puppy for Fall

Loretta Lynn In 'Great Spirits' After Breaking Hip at Home — as Family Jokingly Blames New Puppy for Fall

SARAH MICHAUD and PERRI ORMONT BLUMBERG
January 08, 2018 06:15 PM
Loretta Lynn is recovering after breaking her hip in a fall at her home on Jan. 1.
“She had an accident on New Year’s Day and fractured her hip,” Lynn’s daughter Patsy tells PEOPLE exclusively. “At my mom’s age it’s so dangerous when it comes to the hip, so we’re all just grateful she seems to be okay. She’s up putting weight on it and starting her rehab now.”
A furry new friend may have been the cause of the 85-year-old country legend’s fall, her daughter reveals.
“She has a new puppy — we don’t really know if she was chasing after the puppy or what, but she slid and fractured her hip. We blame the puppy!” says Patsy with a laugh. “Though the puppy brings smiles so there’s that.”
Lynn had been making great strides in recovering from her May 2017 stroke, making her first public appearance in October to induct longtime pal Alan Jackson into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. This latest complication has Lynn down, but not out.
“She’s in great spirits — she’s just aggravated because she was recovering so well and getting around. Now this is a setback,” Patsy tells PEOPLE.
“She said she’s just mad about being back to laying up watching TV! Hopefully, she will recover quickly. She’s strong — it’s amazing she’s able to go through all she’s been through. She had a stroke in May and has been having band rehearsals and getting around great by herself; she’s recording, she’s finishing up another album. That’s what she’s been focusing on. She’s nonstop but she’s always been that way — it’s what keeps her going.”
RELATED VIDEO: Loretta Lynn Admitted Into Nashville Hospital After Suffering a Stroke

Lynn told us as much in 2016, when she spoke to PEOPLE about her famed work ethic.
“They tell me to rest all the time, but I’m not tired! I don’t have to work now. I don’t have to, but I love to,” Lynn, whose long list of awards and accomplishments include three Grammys, eight Country Music Association Awards (including the very first female vocalist award in 1967) and a Kennedy Center Honor, said the time. But she’s not done yet.
“I can probably outwork anyone in Nashville. I ain’t ready to lay down and die,” she said. “I don’t see no reason to quit right now.”
“My birthday wish is for everyone to send love and prayers to my sister, Loretta Lynn, who fell and broke her hip last week,” she wrote. “I was with Loretta yesterday. She is in good spirits and is doing as well as can be expected with this type of injury. Thank you for your love, prayers and continued support!”
Lynn’s career in country music dates back to the 1950s, with hits including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’,” “The Pill,” and many more country classics.
  • Reporting by JANINE RUBENSTEIN

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