MADONNA looked exhausted in photos taken just a few days before she was rushed to hospital.
The superstar singer, 64, spent several days in intensive care this week after falling ill with a "serious bacterial infection".
Just days earlier, the Material Girl singer posted a series of snaps on Instagram.
Unsmiling Madonna looked somber and serious in many of the pics.
She captioned the photos: "The Calm Before The Storm………."
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The photos showed Madge getting ready for her upcoming tour - which is now on hold.
Madonna was working grueling 12-hour days "strenuously rehearsing" for weeks, Page Six reported.
Among the concerning pics shared by the pop megastar was one of her sprawled out lying on the floor.
Her eyes were closed and she placed one hand on her stomach.
In another photo, the Grammy winner's eyes looked glossy and heavy while getting her hair done.
And another shows Madonna sitting somberly next to a piano, taking a break from rehearsals.
She stares into the distance, clutching a can of Red Bull with a long straw sticking out of it.
'Unresponsive'
Madonna was rushed to a New York City hospital's intensive care unit after she was found unresponsive on Saturday, Page Six reported.
The Grammy winner was intubated for a night and is now awake and responsive, according to the publication.
“She had been putting in 12-hour days,” an insider close to Madonna's tour production told Page Six.
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“She was strenuously rehearsing and putting in the work.”
Her condition was apparently so dire that her family feared she would not pull through, a relative told Dailymail.com.
"For the past couple of days, no one really knew which direction this was going to turn, and her family was preparing for the worst," the unnamed family member said.
"Everyone believed that we may lose her and that has been the reality of the situation."
The relative said that the health scare has brought the family together and served as a wake-up call for the singer.
"She has not been living as healthy a life as she should be for her age, and she has been wearing herself thin over the past couple of months," they said.
"She thinks that she is still young when, in fact, she is not. She also believes that she is invincible."
The pop star's daughter, Lourdes Leon, was said to have been by her mother's side throughout the health crisis.
Sons Rocco Ritchie and David Banda were spotted looking worried as the made their way into Madonna's apartment building.
Meanwhile, the star's boxer boyfriend Josh Popper shared an emotional message.
Tour delay
The health emergency forced Madonna to postpone her highly-anticipated Celebration Tour.
Her manager Guy Oseary broke the news on social media on Wednesday.
He said: "On Saturday, June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several day stay in the ICU.
"Her health is improving, however, she is still under medical care."
Oseary said that Madonna's team expects a "full recovery" but would "pause all commitments," including the Celebration Tour.
"We will share more details with you as soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows," he added.
The tour was set to include stops in 43 cities spanning the globe, beginning on July 15 in Vancouver, Canada.
She had lined up dates in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles before stops in London, Stockholm, Barcelona and Paris.
Madonna previously said: "I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.”
Madonna last toured before the height of the Covid pandemic from September 2019 to March 2020.
She struggled with hip and knee injuries during her Madame X Tour.
The Queen of Pop revealed she had to undergo regenerative treatment after suffering extreme pain due to knee surgery.
