Elvis Presley died of a heart attack at the age of 42 in 1977. Doctors felt his death was caused by an addiction to prescription barbiturates. Letetia Henley Kirk, a private nurse, looked after him in the years leading up to his death. She published a tell-all book on Elvis’ last years in 2015.

Letetia said in a recent interview that the “Heartbreak Hotel” singer had a difficult time before his death.

According to Closer Weekly, Kirk first met Presley in 1968 when she treated him for saddle sores at a Memphis medical clinic. Presley would look down when the physicians spoke with him, according to the 78-year-old.

“I walked over, lifted his chin, and said, ‘Elvis, if you talk to me, you look at me,’” she explained.

Kirk claims that Elvis was so captivated with her rural ways that he employed her as a private nurse in 1972, along with her husband as protection. Kirk’s family soon found themselves living at Graceland with the artist.

Kirk traced Elvis’ sorrow all the way back to his dicorce from Priscilla Presley. After it happened, he became lonely and sought solace in maintaining a friendship with his ex-wife.

“He was very family-oriented. [He and Priscilla] continued to be very close via the telephone. … He wanted a companion, but it was difficult for someone of his stature,” Kirk revealed.

In the same year, Presley began dating Miss Tennessee Linda Thompson, who was crowned Miss Tennessee in 1972.

Kirk described Thompson as an “intelligent… stunning lady,” adding, “He was very, very happy with Linda.”

Elvis Presley / GLOBE PHOTOS, INC./Image Collect

Thompson left Elvis a year before his death, according to Closer Weekly. It was “exhausting … watching him slowly self-destruct,” she said.

Presley tried to find consolation in reading the Bible, but the loneliness persisted, according to Kirk.

Letetia said, “He was a very spiritual person. The world thinks he has everything, and yet the happiness isn’t there. He was miserable because he’d gained so much weight. He knew he was not going to be able to perform like he wanted to.”

“We shared many hours together,” she continued. “I saw the sadness and the happiness. I saw vulnerability. I was very fortunate [to have known him]. I wish there was something I could have done to make him a happier person. He was not only my patient but a good friend.”

The former private nurse said that she tried improving Elvis’ health through his diet, but it did not work as he had access to prescription drugs everywhere.

“His access to medications was overwhelming,” Kirk said.

According to history.com, Presley’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated by the mid-’70s. The singer had become dangerously addicted to pharmaceutical medications and had turned to binge eating. Presley, who had once been a teen sensation, had put on a lot of weight. Presley made sporadic stage appearances and lived virtually as a recluse during the last two years of his life, according to the site.

Elvis could have survived the fatal day of Aug. 16 if someone had gotten to him sooner, according to Kirk.

“Had he had immediate medical attention, there’s a big possibility [he might have lived]. But who knows?” she said. “I just want the world to know what a great, intelligent, kind, spiritual individual he was. He was a very special person.”

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977.