All but vanished from the public eye, the 33-year-old revealed her battle with Lyme disease had worsened.<\/p>\n
Avril was first diagnosed with the disease in April 2015, two years after her last album was released.<\/p>\n
Posting an open letter on her website<\/a>, Avril explained her illness caused her entire body to \u201cshut down\u201d:<\/p>\n \u201cI had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down. I felt like I was drowning. Like I was going under water and I just needed to come up for air. Like I was in a river being pulled in a current. Unable to breathe. Praying to God for Him to help me just keep my head above the water. To help me see through the stormy weather. I grew closer to Him. My mother held me. In her arms, I wrote the first song that I am releasing to tell my story.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Calling her illness \u201cthe battle of my lifetime\u201d, Avril told fans she wrote most of her new music while recovering in bed, confirming her new single Head Above Water will be released on September 19.<\/p>\n\n