Most people instantly recognize the music of country artist Shania Twain (we defy you not to sing along to Man! I Have a Womanly Feeling!). However, things haven’t always gone smoothly for the musician. The 56-year-old had to withdraw from the public eye to recover from an unidentified ailment. The queen of country pop discusses her fight with Lyme illness and how she initially believed it would put an end to her singing career in the new Netflix documentary Not Just a Girl.
Twain’s life was completely turned upside down by a tick bite she received while horseback riding in 2003 as she toured to promote her new music.
The star of the documentary claims, “The tick was carrying Lyme illness, and I did contract Lyme disease.” “My symptoms were pretty alarming because I was on stage feeling really dizzy before I was diagnosed. I was tripping over myself and worried I might drop off the stage. Every minute or every thirty seconds, I would get these extremely brief blackouts.
The Canadian singer was also concerned about how the condition might affect her voice, particularly as she began to lose control of her vocals. She claims, “My voice was never the same again.” “I believed I would always be voiceless. I believed it was it and that I would never sing again.
Twain previously talked about being diagnosed with Lyme disease, which prompted her to have open-throat surgery and step away from the spotlight. The Grammy winner described the operations as “extremely intense” and “quite different from a vocal cord operation” to Extra. In 2017, she eventually made a stage comeback.
“I recalled wondering and hearing folks ask, ‘Where is Shania Twain? What happened to her?” According to People, the singer of You’re Still the One said in an interview with Willie Geist on Sunday. “It was terrible. I was so upset about it that I felt I had no choice but to accept it and that I would never be able to sing again.
In an appearance with ITV’s Loose Women, she stated that initially, doctors were unsure of what was causing her problems. “I was just out horseback riding in the forest when I got bit by a tick, a Lyme tick, and it took years to get to the bottom of what was affecting my voice. I would say probably a good seven years before a doctor was able to find out that it was nerve damage to my vocal cords directly caused by Lyme disease.”
The singer said she was “morning the expression of my voice” after spending time treating her sore throat and getting better through therapy. It would have devastated me to never be able to sing again, she continued. I wouldn’t let my life to come to an end. However, I would have been devastated and would have always regretted it.
The most prevalent vector-borne disease—one that affects humans and is spread by anthropods—in the US is Lyme disease. It is spread via a black-legged tick bite that is harboring the infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms can progress to joints, the heart, and the neurological system if they are not treated (CDC).
Within three to 30 days following a bite, the most usual Lyme disease symptoms include:
Fever \sChills
Headache
Fatigue
Aches in joints and muscles
enlarged lymph nodes
Rash called erythema migrans (bullseye rash)
The CDC states that these signs can possibly appear months after infection:
neck stiffness and severe headaches
Body rashes in other places Facial paralysis
severe joint pain and swelling due to arthritis
Tendon, muscle, joint, and bone discomfort that comes and goes
irregular heartbeat or palpitations in the heart (called Lyme carditis)
episodes of fainting or breathing difficulties
inflammation of the spinal cord and brain
neural pain
Numbness, tingling, or shooting sensations in the hands or feet
The most frequent methods for diagnosing Lyme disease are symptoms or tick exposure. Antibiotics are frequently used to treat it successfully, according to the CDC.
We’re thrilled to hear Shania Twain’s resonant voice again and are excited to see what the singer has in store for the future.
