Avril Lavigne Shares Her Battle with ‘Lyme Disease’, Gets Bedridden for Months

Canadian pop punk singer Avril Lavigne finally opened up about the disease that made her missing in action last year.

In an article from People Magazine, Lavigne revealed that she was diagnosed with severe case of Lyme disease last fall and she was bedridden for five months.

“I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move,” the 30-year old singer says. “I thought I was dying.”

Lavigne also told People that there were times that she couldn’t shower for a full week because she could barely stand. “It felt like having all your life sucked out of you,” she shared.

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia bacteria and enters the human body through infected ticks. The tick usually must attach itself to its human host for 36 or more hours before it can transmit the disease. It can cause severe fatigue and fever, headaches, muscle and joint pain and swollen lymph nodes.

Lavigne has been recuperating at home in Ontario since, cared for by her mother and husband, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger. She also shared how the support of her fans helped her.

“The get-well messages and videos they sent touched me so deeply. I lay in bed watching them and cried so much because I felt loved,” says Lavigne. “It was so powerful and beautiful.”

Lavigne declares herself “80 percent better,” and is set to release a new single this month to support the 2015 Special Olympics and says that being ill was a “wake-up call” that has given her a new perspective. She also hopes to raise awareness about the illness.

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