Two country hitmakers from the 70’s and 80’s, Mel Tillis and T.G. Sheppard, have been ill but things may be looking up for both.
Tillis, 84, has not been heard of at all in 2016 and his daughter, Pam Tillis, has updated his fans on the situation.
Last January, Tillis had an attack of diverticulitis that put him in intensive care for much of a month. He has been in recovery ever since, spending time at various facilities around Nashville but is now home in Ocala, FL.
Her statement:
To All The People That Are As Big of a Fan of Dad As I Am:
My family and I are so touched and grateful for your concern and for all the prayers, cards, and letters for our father.
As I tour the country, I am asked about his prognosis almost every day.
We wanted to give you a long overdue update on his condition. Information hasn’t flowed easily and we’ve been fiercely private about many of the details of his illness. Off stage, we are not particularly suited to the social media era. There were some very tough months with Dad’s illness. Our total focus was paying attention to him and his recovery; press announcements were not a priority. Thanks for your patience and understanding if you have felt in the dark on his well being.
So, that being said, here is the latest:
As many of you already know, Dad had a serious diverticulitis attack last January after a busy fall 2015 performance schedule. On the way to the hospital, he became septic and was in the I.C.U. for the better part of a month. Everything he is dealing with now, almost a year later, is a direct result of that crisis. Due to the nature of his illness, his care was best served in several facilities in Nashville up until November.
Currently, he is at home in Ocala, Florida receiving full time in-house care.
His transition, initially, involved a few more weeks in the hospital there.
Now, he’s back at home and on track.
His vital signs are good and his sense of humor is fully intact!
There are no foreseeable personal appearances, as of now.
He misses his fans as much as they miss him.
I miss performing with him very much, particularly at Christmas as I reminisce about all the family Christmas shows we did over the years.
I play his music as people walk into my own concerts.
That is the long and short of it for now. We will try to do better on updates.
Keep him in your prayers. They have worked.
God Bless,
Pam and Family
T.G. Sheppard checked into Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville on Tuesday, suffering from pneumonia, according to his wife Kelly Lang.
While it was in question whether Sheppard would be home by Christmas, Kelly posted good news on Thursday (via Facebook) although she did express her discontent with a news source (mentioned by name) that had reported that Sheppard was much sicker than he actually was:
Yay!! TG is coming HOME a today!! Pneumonia is clearing up well!! Thank you for all of your prayers and calls. We have such wonderful friends and we are very appreciative of everyone’s concern. I will say though how upset and angry I am at www.newsbake.com for suggesting that his illness was “grave” and that I was “begging” for prayers for his life. They also got his age wrong!! He is 72 not 79!!!! I simply wanted to ask for a little prayer for those that love him and might be concerned. I hate when things get blown out of proportion!! He is and will be fine and is looking forward to resting up AT HOME for the holidays so he can get back on stage in Jan.
Hugs!
