Reba McEntire Thought She Might Injure Narvel Blackstock’s Back During 1 Strenuous Activity

After Reba McEntire married Narvel Blackstock, they took a trip together that ended in slight disaster. Read on to find out what they did while on their calamitous vacation. Plus, learn what activity McEntire feared would put Blackstock’s back “out of place” once they returned home.

Reba McEntire’s skiing accident

McEntire wrote about a 1996 skiing accident in her book, Comfort From a Country Quilt. She hit the slopes for two days, then performed a concert. Afterward, she got up the next morning and was back on the mountain, more tired than on the previous trips.

As McEntire was winding down from exhaustion, the group eventually agreed to pack it in and head out. They were skiing back down the mountain when she hit some ice.

The “Does He Love You” singer’s legs were weak because of the previous busy days. So, she couldn’t regain her balance and went down hard. As she fell, the bindings on her skis held on and didn’t release her, causing an injury to her knee.

McEntire shared that the moment she knew things went from bad to worse was when she heard the “pop” sound from her leg, though she wasn’t sure quite where the noise originated at first. Her crew escorted her down the mountain and straight to a hospital to get her checked out.

What activity did Reba McEntire think almost ‘put out’ Narvel Blackstock’s back?

McEntire’s injury was pretty severe and required surgical repair. And after that surgery was complete, the Grand Ole Opry star was ordered to strict rest. A few of her shows needed to be rearranged to ensure she cared for her leg and healed properly.

But lucky for her, she wasn’t alone in that effort. Blackstock, then her husband and manager, was there to help do some of the things she couldn’t do for herself. “I think I almost put Narvel’s back out of place from all the times he had to help me to the bathroom, getting me in and out of the bed,” she wrote.

What did Reba McEntire learn from her accident?

Though McEntire got through the experience by adjusting to her injury and using Blackstock to help get her around, she didn’t at all enjoy being forced to remain sedentary. It wasn’t like the rodeo-riding superstar to rely on others to do so much for her, which left her feeling flustered at times.

She wrote, “Having restrictions on what you can do, when you can do it, if you can do it is the most irritating, confusing, frustrating, aggravating, cruel thing I have ever experienced!”

And when she couldn’t do things like using the bathroom or getting out of bed on her own, she started to see them differently.  But fortunately, she healed well and was soon able to regain her independence with Blackstock’s back still in place.