Kathie Lee Gifford ‘Battling Fears of Being Alone’ After Recent Accident ‘Left Her Feeling Vulnerable’

Usually cheery former Today host Kathie Lee Gifford recently suffered a devastating fall that fractured her pelvis — and a source exclusively reveals to Closer she is secretly struggling to cope after surgery. 

Kathie Lee, 71, had undergone a full hip replacement in June, which the former television presenter called “one of the most painful situations” of her “entire life” during an interview with People on July 16. 

Despite doctors telling her she needed to rest and recover considering her advanced age, the go-getting T.V. personality said she “jumped off that gurney” as soon as she was able, thinking the recovery period would be “easy.”

“I walked, I climbed, I walked and my doctor said, ‘Kathie, no. You have got to realize that this is serious,’” Kathie Lee said. “And I was off my walker in two days. I was off all my medications in three days, and then I did too much. I just did too much because that’s who I am.”

As it turns out, the horribly invasive surgery was a bit too heavy for Kathie Lee’s indomitable spirit to overcome. While moving around her multi-story Nashville home, the vivacious host headed down the stairs too quickly and ended up taking a tumble down nearly the entire flight, fracturing her hip in two places, which required another stay in the hospital.

“I was running down the stairs here at my home in Tennessee because my friend was locked out of my back door and it was 100 degrees outside and I live in a four-story brownstone,” she explained. “So I just went too fast, in stupid shoes, and I went tumbling.”

Laid up in bed for a more serious recovery this time, the source says that the isolation began to get to Kathie Lee. 

“Kathie Lee is quietly battling fears of being alone and suffering another dangerous fall,” discloses the insider. “The accident left her feeling vulnerable and scared, and she’s worried about what could happen if no one’s around to help.”

The television icon’s late husband, Frank Gifford, passed away in August 2015 at age 84, leaving her alone most of the time now. 

“Growing old isn’t easy, especially when you’re alone,” the source adds.

Luckily, Kathie Still has her remaining family to rely on when she starts to feel down, including her beloved grandkids Frankie and Ford, born to son Cody Gifford and his wife, Erika Gifford, and grandson Finn, born to daughter Cassidy Gifford and her husband, Ben Wierda.

“Beyond happy to be home with my precious little guys,” Kathie Lee, 71, captioned a photo with one of her grandsons on September 27.

She recently gave an update to Today on August 13, telling fans “I have been in no pain now and when that happens to you, you have to give credit and glory … credit to all the prayers, and when I think about the people that have reached out to me and said, ‘Kathie, have a speedy recovery, we’re praying for a speedy recovery,’ that’s about as speedy as you get!’”