Avril Lavigne Opens Up About Lyme Disease: ‘A Lot Of Good Has Come Out Of It’

Earlier this month, pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne finally revealed that her months-long health scare that she had alluded to back in December was due to Lyme disease. Now Avril is opening up about the effect it had on her, and considering she was bedridden for five months, she’s keeping positive on the subject.

“I haven’t stopped working since I was 15. Just to have this downtime, this time spent with my family, has been really good for me just to take a step back and look at my life, and really get to see who in my life is really there for me when I need them. I’ve had a lot of time to just think, and I’ve never been so clear before, or as close to my family. So there’s been a lot of good that has come out of it. And moving forward, I’m really clear on what I want in life.”

Lavigne’s reasoning behind finally talking about her battle with Lyme disease is that she feels the disease is something that’s not talked about often, and that whatever information is out there isn’t completely accurate. Avril says she feels she has a responsibility to bring the disease to light.

“I need to talk about Lyme disease, because it’s real, it’s out there, it was a simple bug bite and it could happen to anybody. People need to know about it, because it’s not talked about that much and a lot of the information that’s out there is inaccurate.”

As for getting back to work, Avril Lavigne fans — who have been waiting since 2013 for a new album — won’t have to wait much longer. A release date of April 16 has been set for Avril’s newest single, titled “Fly,” which ties into the Special Olympic World Games, taking place in Los Angeles July 25 to August 2.

Avril says she initially wrote the song two years ago for her Avril Lavigne Foundation, which supports “children and youth living with serious illnesses or disabilities.” All proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the Special Olympics, and Avril plans to record a video for the song featuring Special Olympic athletes.

Lavigne says she has another song that she will release later this year, which was written while laying in bed as she was starting to feel better. Avril says she’s looking forward to releasing this song in particular “because it’s about my battle and the fight that I’ve had to put up.”

She will eventually be working on another studio album, but says her battle with Lyme disease has taught her to stray out of her comfort zone and explore things that she’s always had a passion for but has never had the chance to do, like make a Christmas album.

“I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas album, but I’ve never had the time. But now it’s like, ‘You know what, just do it!’ Because that’s something I really want to do, so that’s going to be next for me.”

Despite having a debilitating disease that left her bed-ridden for months on end, Avril Lavigne is choosing to see the silver lining of a bad situation, saying, “I really want to enjoy everything, because life is good.”

[Photo Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images, Image Credit: Billboard]