Kathie Lee Gifford, 72, Admits She 'Wanted to Die a Few Times' During Debilitating Year of Brutal Health Struggles and Chronic Pain

Kathie Lee Gifford gave an intimate look into her year of brutal health woes.

Gifford, 72, opened up about her struggles in an interview published on Tuesday, June 30, revealing she underwent a total hip replacement just a year before she broke her arm while playing too hard with her grandchildren.

She broke another bone while falling on uneven pavement and had to have cataract surgery after noticing issues in her depth perception, all within a short period of time.

"I feel like Mr. Potato Head! One thing falls off and then another," she joked to People.

The struggles took a major blow to Gifford's mental health as well.

"I wanted to die a few times," she admitted. "I wasn't going to hurt myself. I wasn't going to kill myself. I just didn't want to be here — as blessed as I am."

Gifford recalls praying in her darkest moments to be taken "home."

"Lord, if this is all you have left for me, I want to go home," she begged.

Thankfully, Gifford tried not to take herself or her injuries too seriously throughout her chronic pain and seemingly endless surgeries.

"You have to have a sense of humor about everything," she said. "Thank God I've never lost that, even in my bleakest moments. I'm a tough broad."

The most difficult part of the pain, Gifford remembered, was not being able to show up for her loved ones, especially her grandchildren, like she normally would.

Gifford has five grandchildren, thanks to her children, Cody and Cassidy. Cody has welcomed Frank, 4, Ford, 2, and Faith, 10 months. Cassidy gave birth to Finn, 3, and Rosie, 13 months.

"I couldn't carry them, I couldn't love on them, I couldn't run and play with them," Gifford remembered. "All I could do was sit there and sing and write silly songs with them."

Gifford also felt that she couldn't show up at work and social engagements the way people would expect her to over her decades-long career.

"I want to be Kathie Lee, the person they expect. I don't want to disappoint people," she explained. "But when you're in pain, it's so debilitating, and everything's a grimace. I've had emotional pain many times in my life, but never this chronic physical pain where you literally want to go home to Jesus."

Gifford is on the mend and able to play with her grandchildren again thanks to rigorous physical therapy.

"They're all fantastic," she said of her grandchildren. "I'm hoping, Lord willing, that I have many, many years with them."

Her bout with chronic pain and declining mental health prompted Gifford to consider her life and legacy.

"I think the secret to being not just alive but thriving is authenticity,” she shared. “I’ve never been a different person on camera as off. I’ve never separated my spiritual life and my secular life. It’s all the same.”