Madonna said “It’s a f**king miracle that I’m here right now” to her audience in Antwerp, Belgium, on Saturday night as she recounted a recent brush with a bacterial infection that sent her to a hospital bed for emergency treatment.
The Daily Mails reports the revelation came as the Queen of Pop, 65, became emotional as she recounted the health ordeal that landed her unconscious in a hospital bed.
The health emergency, described as a “serious bacterial infection” that required the mega pop star to spend several days in ICU, prompted her to reflect on her mother, Madonna Louise Ciccone, who passed from breast cancer at age 33.
“I had this strange thought,” she said in a clip tweeted by a fan who attended her Celebration Tour show. “I suddenly had sympathy and empathy for my mother,’ she said, placing her hand on her chest and exhaling deeply.
Madonna performs during The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on October 15, 2023 in London, England. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)
“About how lonely she must have felt in the hospital, knowing that she wasn’t going to live. And I was given another chance.”
The Mail report then detailed her further thoughts on life, death and the frailty of existence.
“I must tell you, I don’t feel very well right now. But I can’t complain because I’m alive,” she added. “Thank God for my children and all of you, and all of your love and support. I really appreciate it.”
The 64-year-old Material Girl also said it was a “f**king miracle” she survived the ordeal.
Madonna performs during The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on October 15, 2023 in London, England. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)
“Less than four months ago I was in a hospital, and I was unconscious and people were thinking – predicting — that I might not make it,” she confided to the audience in another clip posted by the fan.
“It’s a f**king miracle that I’m here right now. My mother, God bless her, she must be watching over me, she said, “Girl, it’s not your time to go.”‘
Madonna had been forced to reschedule her shows after she was rushed to the ICU and intubated when she was found slumped on the floor of her New York City apartment in June.
The singer is now on her “Celebration” world tour that began July 15 in Vancouver, with dates in North America and Europe following.