'I had accepted that I was going to die': Avril Lavigne makes return to the spotlight with emotional new single

Avril Lavigne is back and better than ever.

The 33-year-old singer is marking her return to the spotlight with the emotional new piano ballad “Head Above Water” — her first single since revealing she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

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In the new song, Lavigne lets fans in on her struggle to stay positive through what she called the most difficult time in her life.

“One night I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me,” Lavigne told fans in a statement. “I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed, ‘God, please help to keep my head above the water.’ In that moment, the songwriting of this album began.”

Lavigne first went public with her diagnosis in 2015. Doctors attributed her infection to a tick bite in the spring of 2014.

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“I had no idea a bug bite could do this,” she said. “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.”

To coincide with the release of her single, Lavigne has launched a line of merchandise to benefit those with Lyme disease who struggle to afford treatment through her charity, The Avril Lavigne Foundation.

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