Washington, DC [US], September 30 : Madonna shared more details about her 2023 hospitalisation while she was on tour, reported People.
During an interview with Jay Shetty for the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Madonna revealed how she overcame sepsis and was unconscious for four days amid her hospitalisation for a "serious bacterial infection" -- and shared how her practice of Kabbalah aided in her recovery.
Madonna was hospitalised in June 2023.
Recalling that period of her life, she said, "There's no way we're going to escape suffering. Even if we grow up with wealth and privilege, and you know, didn't grow up in a small room, our challenges and our suffering are going to come to us in a different way," as quoted by People.
"I was rehearsing for my tour, and I got a bacterial infection," she recalled. "One minute I was alive and dancing around, and the next minute I was in the ICU unit of a hospital, and I woke up from being unconscious for four days," reported People.
Sepsis is defined as "a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to an infection, according to the Mayo Clinic. "The infection-fighting processes turn on the body, causing the organs to work poorly ... Sepsis may progress to septic shock. This is a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs. When the damage is severe, it can lead to death," according to People.
"I got out of the hospital, they took me off the ventilator, I started to breathe on my own, and I had something, it's called sepsis, and it can kill you," Madonna continued, before detailing how a lengthy recovery was soon to follow her ordeal.
"I always saw myself as superwoman," she said. "So, I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to kick this. I'm going to be good. I'm getting back into rehearsals.' "
However, Madonna said she had "no strength," "no energy," "couldn't get out of bed", and "didn't know when it was going to end."
In a July 2024 Instagram post to mark a year since she left the hospital, Madonna reflected on her "miraculous recovery".
"A year ago today, I had just come home from the hospital after surviving a life threatening illness, I could barely stand in my backyard holding one sparkler," Madonna wrote. "I made a miraculous recovery and had an amazing year. Thank you God. Life is beautiful!."
Over the years, she says she's accepted that "I don't fit in, and not fitting in is what saves you," reported People.