Brad Paisley made good use of his well-documented sense of humor during his wife Kimberly’s lengthy vocal loss ordeal, a problem for which she eventually underwent vocal cord surgery.
In a new interview with People, Kimberly shares the funny Christmas gift that turned out to be “one of the kindest things Brad did for me” during her prolonged health challenge.
He bought her a bright pink megaphone, which she used to call the couple’s two teenage sons, Huck and Jasper, downstairs for dinner.
“It was really hilarious and so necessary,” Kimberly remembers. “I started using it immediately. He is so good at keeping me laughing.”
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- Kimberly has previously opened up about her prolonged health challenge, which began when she lost her voice onstage at her annual Alzheimer’s fundraiser in Nashville.
- She says that initial moment was “embarrassing & scary,” and began a tough couple of years where she struggled to be heard — both in public settings and at home.
- After a long health battle, doctors finally determined that her laryngeal nerve was damaged, and she underwent surgery to correct the problem.
Kimberly says she felt “trapped in my body” during the experience, and reflects on how she’d taken for granted her ability to use her voice in both social and professional situations.
In the new interview, both she and her country star husband spoke in more detail about the affects of Kimberly being unable to speak above a whisper.
“You didn’t know her tone. That was eerie,” Paisley remembers. “There were times when we would say, ‘Are you okay with us?’ And she’s like [whispering] ‘Yeah.’ And we’d be like, ‘That didn’t sound sincere.’ And she’d say, ‘I don’t have another sound.'”
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Paisley also said that despite his best efforts at being supportive, he didn’t always know how to help. After her initial vocal loss, he says, he didn’t understand what was going on — and he urged her to push through it.
“I remember saying, ‘Let me hear you project.’ ‘Learn to power through it.’ I thought maybe she just needed to clear her throat,” he recounts. “It was so stupid and naive.”
Even though they didn’t always know the best way to help, Kimberly says her family’s support was a vital part of her recovery.
“I am so grateful that I had Brad and the boys with me through this,” she says. “They saw me at my most vulnerable and my weakest moments. They made me feel less alone.”
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Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker