Reba McEntire Was ‘Tickled to Death’ Before a Bone-Popping Calamity on the Ski Slopes
Country icon Reba McEntire once shared a story about a time she was having a blast skiing with her ex-husband and friends in the ’90s before an unfortunate accident left her with a painful injury. How bad was the damage and could the “Does He Love You” singer perform? Read on to find out.
Reba McEntire and Narvel Blackstock hit the ski slopes in Salt Lake City
According to her book, Comfort From a Country Quilt, McEntire took a 1996 trip with her ex-husband Narvel Blackstock. They were traveling for a show in Salt Lake City, Utah and hit the ski slopes nearby for two days before she performed.
Despite such athletic activities, McEntire had all the energy in the world for her performance, but found her stores were low when she was done. She said, “… After skiing all day and doing a very physical show, I was pooped!”
Nevertheless, she joined Blackstock and friends for some more skiing the next day. She noticed on her first run that her legs were more tired than the day before. So, when they stopped to grab lunch, she thought about checking out early. She kept up for a little while longer before telling Blackstock to give her the keys and meet her at the van.
Reba McEntire was ‘tickled to death’ before she injured her knee in a skiing accident
McEntire said everyone in her party agreed it was time to wrap up their day, so they headed down the slopes. “I had been skiing better on this trip than ever before,” the “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain” singer wrote. “I was tickled to death.”
She added it would have been better if she wasn’t so tired, but she had fun. That was until the “little renegade” ran into trouble. “… My ski hit an icy edge in the snow, which caused me to lose control,” she explained. She was too exhausted to pull her skis together, and the bindings didn’t release her the way they should have.
“I heard the pop,” she said. “I didn’t know what it was but I knew it was serious.”
McEntire immediately wanted to find out what damage had been done and start the path toward repairing and recovering if needed. She had shows scheduled and obligations to keep, of course.
But the accident “broke the spine off” her tibia inside her knee. “The best way I can explain it is that my shin and thigh went in opposite directions and caused the muscle that goes through the knee to pop off the bone above the knee,” she wrote. The muscle took part of the bone off with it.
Reba McEntire learned to perform in a wheelchair after her skiing accident
The anti-“bro music” icon was scheduled for a series of performances, but she had to adjust to get the needed surgery done first. She said she felt like she had a piece of gravel stuck in her knee. So, she couldn’t put off fixing it.
But soon enough, McEntire was back on stage, though in a wheelchair, practicing with her dancers. And there was a silver lining to being in the chair for a time. She said focusing only on her singing reminded her of why she loved her job so much in the first place.
