Country music icon Loretta Lynn is reportedly living in a care facility, where her family fears she will be spending her final days as she faces ongoing health problems from her major stroke in 2017.
Insiders told Radar Online Lynn, 87, is now living in a 24/7 care facility, where famous friends are “lining up” to say their last goodbyes.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“It’s so sad to see Loretta breaking down,” one source told the site. “She needs a walker or a wheelchair to get around now, and on top of that, she suffers from glaucoma, so her vision is severely compromised. The combination of poor eyesight and poor balance is a disaster waiting to happen.”
The source said Lynn “already has in-house nursing care, and of course, her four kids are there with her most every day. But there’s still a fear that another fall is going to kill her, and she would be better off in a facility where she can be monitored at all times.”
According to a friend, Lynn moved to a home closer to a hospital in Nashville last year, leaving behind her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
“That just cut Loretta’s heart out, since she and her late husband, Doo, called Hurricane Mills home for more than 50 years,” the friend said. “But her ranch is 75 miles from her hospital in Nashville, and if something were to happen to her, there was the fear she might die en route during the long haul.”
One friend told Radar Lynn is still talking about giving one final performance, and her family has let her talk about it to give her something to hope for.
“She talks to them about booking some concert dates. But of course, with her health and how unsteady she is on her feet, it’s just an impossibility. It allows Loretta to still hope — even though it’s becoming clear the end is near,” the friend said.
The singer last appeared on the stage on April 2, when she appeared at her star-studded birthday concert. She was celebrated by a collection of A-list country stars and joined sister Crystal Gayle, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Garth Brooks and more for a performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Lynn suffered a major stroke in May 2017 and has struggled to recover. In January 2018, she broke her hip, making it difficult to walk on her own.
Despite her health scare, Lynn said in January she was working on new music and planned to have a big year in 2019.
“I hope all my friends had a great start to 2019,” Lynn wrote in January. “I’m expecting it to be a great year. I’m going kick back a little, sing a little, pick a little, and spend lots of time with my family and my friends! (I might even pick up another Grammy in February!) It’s gonna be a good year, folks! Happy new year!”
Lynn’s most recent album, Wouldn’t It Be Great, was released in September 2018.
Photo credit: Getty Images
