Madonna Reflects on Health, Thanks Supporters: ‘I Realized How Lucky I Am to Be Alive’

It has been one month since Madonna has been out of the hospital following a “serious bacterial infection.” As the pop icon recovers, she’s had time to take stock on what matters most after a health issue that led to her spending several days in an intensive care unit and forced her to postpone her North American Celebration tour dates.

“Love from family and friends is the best Medicine. 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,” Madonna wrote on Instagram, sharing photos with two of her children, son David Banda and daughter Lourdes Leon. “I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference.”

She also expressed gratitude for the support of her friends. “If you zoom into this Picture I am holding You will see A Polaroid taken by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jackson’s face painted on it,” she wrote. “A perfect triangle of Brilliance. Artist who touched so many lives including my own.

“I sobbed when I opened this gift because I realized how lucky I am to be alive,” she continued. “And how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone.
Thank you @guyoseary for this gift! And Thank you to all my angels who protected me and let me Stay to finish doing my work!”

Late last month, Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, announced that the singer had been in the ICU, but that a “full recovery was expected.” Due to her health, Madonna was forced to “pause all commitments,” including the start of her Celebration tour, which was originally set to kick-off earlier this month on July 15 in Vancouver, BC. “We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows,” he wrote.

Live Nation previously confirmed to Rolling Stone that the North American dates would be postponed and encouraged fans to “hold onto their tickets as they will be valid for the new dates once announced.”

Earlier this month, Madonna said she planned to begin the tour in October in Europe, with her first stop tentatively taking place for a four-date run at O2 Arena in London from Oct. 14-15, and Oct. 17-18.