Dolly Parton is reportedly keeping a bedside vigil for Carl Dean, her publicity-shy husband of 54 years, as the country music queen fears the end is near.
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Carl’s condition has drastically declined in the past year, and devoted Dolly has confessed to friends that she rarely leaves his side because the 78-year-old may have only months to live.
“Dolly and Carl have always spent long stretches of time away from each other, but now she has become his primary caregiver,” an insider explains.
Sadly, it was reported back in 2019 that Carl’s now living with Alzheimer’s disease, and its impact has been devastating.
“It’s brought on a slew of grave issues, including bladder problems, that have left him with a lack of appetite,” the insider continues. “Carl is also disoriented and prone to outbursts caused by his confusion.”
Sources called the situation “sad” because once fiercely independent Carl is now “completely housebound”.
Dolly, 75, tries to get Carl to remember their happier times and give him a reason to keep going, but sources claim he doesn’t have the same drive he used to.
According to insiders, Carl suffered from high blood pressure and a weak heart before his rumoured Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and both conditions have been aggravated by the disease, leaving him frail and struggling for breath.
Worse yet, the COVID-19 global pandemic has sparked a whole new set of concerns.
“Carl’s immune system is so compromised that Dolly believes if he contracted coronavirus or pneumonia, he wouldn’t survive it,” another friend said.
“She’s cut their staff down to two to try to limit the people Carl comes in contact with – she won’t even have family over.”
With only the help of a daytime healthcare aide and an overnight nurse to allow her a precious few hours of sleep, brave Dolly rarely ventures from her husband’s side.
Her recent holiday film, Christmas on the Square, was shot months in advance, and she didn’t even appearing her very first Super Bowl commercial for Squarespace. Instead, the Grammy-winning singer simply lent her voice to a remix of her hit ‘9 to 5’.
Sources said Dolly even turned down the honour of receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Washington, DC because she feared leaving Carl alone in Tennessee!
Now, Dolly is said to be at a loss about what the future would look like without her soulmate.
“Dolly has spent so much of her life and her marriage out there trying to conquer the world – and she’s been pretty damn good at it,” a friend said.
“But now she feels it won’t mean [anything] without Carl by her side.”
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