Dolly Parton Tells Graphic Story of Her Mom Sewing Her Toes Back on Her Feet

If it weren’t for kerosene, her mama, and a sewing needle, country singer Dolly Parton may have lost her toes.

On an upcoming episode of the Dr. Oz Show, the 11-time Grammy winner recalled a horrific childhood accident when she was about 6 or 7-years-old that nearly left her missing a few toes.

“I had jumped across the fence onto a broken mason jar and cut three of my toes, just my little toes on my right foot, almost off and they were just kind of hanging there,” Parton told Dr. Mehmet, People reported.

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Her family didn’t have the means to get her to a hospital, and so her mother, father, and brothers had to step in and take care of business themselves with a little DIY surgery.

“So they grabbed me up and all my dad and my brothers, they had to hold me down. Momma, she put cornmeal — now, you’re a doctor, you might know, I think the cornmeal was to absorb the blood,” she continued. “They put kerosene on it for antiseptic and momma took her sewing needles — she used to make our quilts and stuff, and she literally had to sew my toes back on.”

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The crude surgery ended up being a success, and the “9 to 5” singer’s toes healed perfectly, allowing her to strut in sky-high heels for years to come.

“But they worked and they healed and I’m still walking on them.”