Avril Lavigne is opening up about her recent health scare after spending nearly an entire year fighting a severe case of Lyme disease.
The 30-year-old "Hello Kitty" singer revealed to People Magazine that she was diagnosed with Lyme disease after her birthday trip to Las Vegas last September. Despite wanting to celebrate the big 3-0 in the Sin City, Lavigne recalled not being in the partying mood.
"I could barely eat, and when we went to the pool, I had to leave and go lie in bed," she shared. "My friends asked, 'What's wrong?' I didn't know. I had no idea a bug bite could do this. I was bedridden for five months... I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move. I thought I was dying."
The singer kept her health scare to herself, but in December she vaguely mentioned to her fans that she wasn't feeling well and also asked them for their prayers during the difficult time.
"I'm not feeling well. I'm having some health issues. So please keep me in your prayers," she said.
"They were asking about me since I was MIA, so I mentioned to one fan directly that I wasn't feeling good. The get-well messages and videos they sent touched me so deeply," she told People. "I lay in bed watching them and cried so much because I felt loved."
Lavigne's mother eventually moved into her Ontario home to care for her, and the singer's her husband Chad Kroeger checked in on her during breaks from his tour with Nickelback. The young rocker said she's feeling 80 percent better, but she admitted that the recovery process was not easy.
"There were definitely times I couldn't shower for a full week because I could barely stand. It felt like having all your life sucked out of you," she confessed. "This was a wake-up call. I really just want to enjoy life from here on out."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks." Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a skin rash called erythema migrans. If remained untreated, an infection can grow and spread to the joints, the heart and the nervous system.
Lavigne is back on Twitter and back to making new music again, with her latest single, "Fly," which is expected to release this month for the 2015 Special Olympics.
