Grand Ole Opry member and mainstay Jeannie Seely is opening up about a difficult health battle that’s kept her offstage for much of this spring.

In a statement, the singer reveals that she’s recovering after undergoing several surgical procedures, admitting that the process has been a “struggle.”

Seely says she’s healing from “multiple back surgeries in March, as well as two emergency abdominal surgeries in April, followed by 11 days in the intensive care unit and a bout with pneumonia.”

This is the first time Seely is offering details on her most recent health battle. However, her fans have been concerned about her for a couple months, since it’s unlike the singer to be absent from the Opry stage for very long.

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She’s also had to miss multiple episodes of her Sundays With Seely SiriusXM on Willie’s Roadhouse, a station dedicated to traditional country music.

“Over the past several weeks, I’ve received so many wonderful messages of love and concern about being missed on the Grand Ole Opry and on Sundays With Seely on Willie’s Roadhouse,” her statement notes.

“Thank you for those, and I assure you that I miss you just as much!”

Though her recovery process is ongoing, Seely says she’s staying positive and working towards a return to the stage.

“Rehab is pretty tough but each day is looking brighter,” she relates, “and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine! The unsinkable Seely is working her way back.”

Now 84 years old, Seely has been a staple of the country genre since the 1960s, with hits like her Grammy-winning “Don’t Touch Me.” A Grand Ole Opry member since 1967, she was the first woman to host the show.

Seely has been open about health challenges in the past couple of years. Last August, she was hospitalized during a trip to Pennsylvania, where she received treatment for dehydration and acute diverticulitis.

In December 2024, she mourned the death of her husband Eugene Ward, who died at age 92 after a cancer battle. The couple got married in 2010.