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Delta Goodrem's secret 2018 surgery left her unable to speak
Delta Goodrem has opened up on the truth behind her long break between releasing music, revealing a 2018 surgery kept secret from fans left her unable to speak or sing.
The 35-year-old opened up to fans in a dramatic revelation shared to social media, revealing she underwent surgery in 2018 meant to remove her saliva gland.
On Sunday, Delta uploaded a video detailing the journey to her Instagram Stories explaining that she woke from the operation to discover she couldn’t speak, leading to paralysis of a nerve in her tongue.
The Voice coach has since recovered, releasing her latest single Paralyzed in July, a song she has now revealed details the harrowing chapter from her life.
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In the six-minute video sharing the story with fans, Delta is seen breaking down in tears, and speaking from a hospital bed with an oxygen tube strapped across her face in footage she took at the time.
“I’m taking this as like a rebirth thing,” she tells the camera in stilted speech after the surgery. “That’s what it means.”
Another shot shows the star absolutely devastated, telling the camera she is super embarrassed.
“I don’t want to go out,” she says through tears. “I am super embarrassed. I’m over it, just over it.”
“My livelihood is my sound,” the songstress says. “I’m trying to decide whether this is getting any better or not. It doesn’t feel like it.”
The at times painful video shows the star recovering, painfully sounding out words and often left frustrated.
Here is my story behind why I wrote 'Paralyzed'. xx pic.twitter.com/ITX0r4YrGI
— Delta Goodrem (@DeltaGoodrem) August 16, 2020
Ultimately, however, her perseverance paid off, leaving us with her sixth studio album written while she was in recovery, though she admits it’s still not quite the same as it was.
“I am still a little bit confused at how it feels a little bit different to sing now and I’m still finding that new space so that’s a little bit heartbreaking,” she revealed to the camera at the video’s conclusion.
The star revealed why she had waited so long to open up about the experience, saying more than two years on that she wanted her fans to understand the depth of meaning behind Paralyzed.
“I share this with you as an artist sharing where the poetry in this song comes from, and as a human who deeply feels and understands that everyone has their own story and their own challenges.”
“You never know what someone is going through and this is an extremely hard time for people.
“So I send this story to you with the message of hope and love,'“ she concluded.
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