Music

Madonna feels ‘lucky to be alive’ after health scare

Singer developed bacterial infection in June which put her in intensive care for several days

Madonna has praised her children for supporting her while she suffered was ill: “It made all the difference.”Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty

Mon Jul 31 2023 - 09:26

Madonna has praised her children for stepping up to support her while she suffered a health scare last month, saying: “It made all the difference.”

The 64-year-old singer developed a “serious bacterial infection” in June which put her in intensive care for several days.

She later confirmed she was “on the road to recovery” and recuperating at home after being forced to postpone several dates of her world tour.

Alongside an Instagram post which featured a photo of her hugging her son David and another posing beside her daughter Lourdes, she wrote: “Love from family and friends is the best medicine.

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“One month out of the hospital and I can reflect. As a mother you can really get caught up in the needs of your children and the seemingly endless giving ...

“But when the chips were down my children really showed up for me. I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference.”

The singer has six children – daughter Lourdes (26), son Rocco (22), son David Banda (17), daughter Mercy James (17) and 10-year-old twins Stella and Estere.

She says “love and support” from her friends also got her through the difficult period.

The veteran singer also shared an image of her holding a Polaroid which she revealed was taken by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jackson’s face painted on it.

She hailed the three artists as a “perfect triangle of brilliance” who “touched so many lives including my own”.

The singer thanked her manager Guy Oseary for the present: “I sobbed when I opened this gift because I realised how lucky I am to be alive.

“And how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone.”

“And thank you to all my angels who protected me and let me stay to finish doing my work!”

The singer was due to begin Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Canada on July 15th before she suffered the infection.

Her tour was set to take in stops in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles, before moving to Europe.

Earlier this month, she said her plan was to reschedule the North American leg of the tour and to begin in October in Europe.

Billed as a “one-of-a-kind experience”, the tour is also set to feature special guest Bob the Drag Queen, real name Caldwell Tidicue.

It will be Madonna’s first tour since her Madame X shows, which ended in 2020, though some performances were called off due to knee and hip injuries. — PA

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