Madonna speaks out for 1st time since hospitalization: 'I'm on the road to recovery'

Madonna is feeling “incredibly grateful” on her road to recovery. 

The Queen of Pop, 64, has spoken out for the first time since being admitted to the ICU for a bacterial infection on June 24.

“Thank you for your positive energy, prayers and words of healing and encouragement. I have felt your love,” the singer wrote in an Instagram post on Monday alongside a selfie. “I’m on the road to recovery and incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life.”

“My first thought what I woke up in the hospital was my children. My second thought was that I did not want to disappoint anyone who bought tickets for my tour,” the mother of six — Lourdes, 26; Rocco, 22; David, 17; Mercy, 17; and twins Estere and Stella, both 10 — continued. “I also didn’t want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show. I hate to disappoint anyone.”

While Madonna said the major focus right now is her “health and getting stronger,” she assured fans that she’ll be back on the road as soon as possible. The North American leg of her Celebration tour will be rescheduled. European dates will pick up in October, she said of the "current plan." 

“I assure you, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can!” she wrote. ‘I couldn’t be more grateful for your care and support.”

Emergency hospital stay

Her longtime manager Guy Oseary sent shockwaves through the Material Girl's fans when he released a statement on June 28 revealing that Madonna had developed a “serious bacterial infection” that led to a "several-day stay in the ICU."

He did not specify what kind of infection it was, though health experts have speculated that it might have been sepsis, a condition that occurs when your immune responses overreact to a bacterial infection.

After Oseary's post, a source claimed to Page Six that Madonna had been working 12-hour days leading up to the Celebration tour, which was set to kick off in Vancouver on July 15, and that she was found unresponsive before being rushed to the hospital. Those reports have yet to be confirmed. 

Quick recovery

A day after the news broke, sources confirmed with Yahoo Entertainment that the singer was “recovering” well at home. Some of Madonna's close friends — including Rosie O’Donnell and Debi Mazar — also reiterated that she was doing well, with Mazar calling her “the strongest gal I know.”

Within an hour of Madonna's latest post, nearly 240,000 responses from fans and friends flooded the Material Girl's comment section, which was growing by the minute. 

They included words from Andy Cohen, who wrote, "WE LOVE YOU." 

RuPaul's Drag Race co-host Michelle Visage chimed in as well, noting, "What we care about is…. YOU! You take care of you and the rest will fall in line. WE LOVE YOU."

"We love you so much," wrote singer Diplo, with fashion designer Andrew Christian adding, "Take care of yourself!" 

"Wishing you nothing but love and light on your recovery. Don’t go too hard on yourself out there Mama, your lil ones still need you around," Olympian Amini Fonua added. "Listen to your body. Give it time to recover."