Madonna says she is lucky to be alive after bacterial infection

LOS ANGELES – American pop star Madonna has thanked her children and friends for their support after she was hospitalised in late June

for a serious bacterial infection.

“Love from family and friends is the best medicine. One month out of the hospital and I can reflect,” the 64-year-old wrote on social media on Sunday.

“As a mother, you can really get caught up in the needs of your children and the seemingly endless giving,” she continued.

“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 posted a photo of herself hugging her son David Banda, 17, and another photo of her with her daughter Lourdes Leon, 26, who was showing the V sign.

Madonna has four other children: Rocco, 22; Mercy, 17; and twins Stella and Estere, 10. 

The Lucky Star (1983) singer also mentioned the love and support from her friends, and posted a photo of a gift given by her manager Guy Oseary.

“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,” Madonna wrote.

She called it “a perfect triangle of brilliance” and said Warhol was an “artist who touched so many lives, including my own”.

“I sobbed when I opened this gift because I realised how lucky I am to be alive,” she added. “And how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone.”

Madonna was in the intensive care unit for several days after falling ill, according to a statement by Mr Oseary in late June. 

She postponed the North American leg of The Celebration Tour, which was originally scheduled to begin on July 15, to an unspecified date and will begin the concert tour in Europe in October.

The singer concluded the post on Sunday by saying: “Thank you to all my angels who protected me and let me stay to finish doing my work.”