Kathie Lee Gifford Hospitalized

Kathie Lee Gifford is healing after a fall amid her recovery from recent hip replacement surgery left her hospitalized with a fractured pelvis. The former TODAY co-host, 70, told PEOPLE on Tuesday, July 30, that she suffered a fractured pelvis in two places and was hospitalized for more than a week for physical therapy after an accidental fall.

After moving “300 books by myself” during Nashville book signings, Gifford lamented that it was her “own fault” that she had “weakened” her body. The day after her book signing, the TV personality tripped while going to meet a friend at the door, injuring herself in the fall. 

“It didn’t take much, because I was weak in that spot,” Gifford explained. “And the next thing you know, I am back in the hospital with a fractured pelvis, the front and the back. That’s more painful than anything I went through with the hip. The pelvis is unbelievably painful. But anyway, here I am.” The “humbling experience” reminded Gifford to slow down and embrace the changes of growing older. 

“It’s summer for everybody but me,” Gifford said. “But it’s OK. I’m going to get out to my little farm one of these days and stick my feet in my salt pool. The Lord is telling me it’s time to slow down. I’ve been running my whole life. The Lord is telling me, ‘You’ve planted a gazillion roses. Try smelling them.’”

Earlier this month, Gifford stopped by TODAY to chat with former co-host Hoda Kotb about her hip surgery a month into her recovery. Before the procedure, Gifford admitted she was in “agonizing pain” and had “one of the worst hips” her doctor had ever seen. “My doctor finished the surgery, came in to tell me it went beautifully, and then said, ‘Kathie, how have you been existing all this time?’” Gifford recalled to Kotb. “He said, ‘It’s one of the worst hips I’ve ever seen.’”

Kotb warned her friend that her active lifestyle might be playing a role in her physical issues “You’re always on the go,” she said. “I never once saw you stop, even if you were in the car. I remember you’d be writing notes. You’re always- your brain, your body is always working.” Gifford agreed, noting, “You can’t fool your body. It knows how old you are and it knows where you’ve been.”