Lira hospitalised after suffering a stroke - 'Her speech has been impacted'
"Her ability to communicate, in particular, her speech, has been impacted."
Singer Lira has been hospitalised after suffering a stroke. Her team confirmed the news in a statement shared on social media.
"Lira recently travelled to Germany for a performance but unfortunately suffered a stroke whilst there. As a result, her ability to communicate, in particular, her speech, has been impacted," the statement read.
The 'Feel Good' singer has since returned to South Africa where she is receiving treatment from "the best medical team available".
"Her medical team has advised that her journey to recovery will require patience and therefore, it is unlikely that she will be able to perform in the short term," her team added.
Despite the setback, Lira is said to be in "good spirits". The 43-year-old's family is by her side and are hopeful that she will make a full recovery.
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Scores of people, including some of Lira's famous friends, wished her well on her road to recovery.
"We love you so much my butternut, we wish you a speedy recovery. Keeping you in our prayers and sending you so much love," Mafikizolo's Nhlanhla Mafu commented.
Hulisani Ravele wrote: "Lifting you up in love, light and prayer Li."
Jennifer Bala added: "I’m so sorry to hear this and sending you much love and light. Praying for a full recovery."
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Lira has entertained audiences - both locally and abroad - for nearly two decades.
The star recently opened up about how COVID-19 and the digital era have affected the music industry.
“The digital era was the first thing that influenced music, people were not buying physical copies any more You pay R50 to stream a million songs, how much do you think the artist is getting, peanuts. Where we used to get such beautiful income, suddenly all of that is gone. It means artists had to find other ways to find sustenance," she told TshisaLive in an interview.
But Lira's music has stood the test of time and the star continues to book gigs all over the world.
"There are times were in my music journey I didn’t feel motivated and I think especially now with what’s happening. Inasmuch as I’m adaptive and I’ve had a great 2020 and 2021, I’ve been busy. It’s been wonderful but fundamentally our industry has changed completely... the attitude I’ve taken is 'fine, let’s pretend I’m starting my career from scratch.' I feel like that’s the only attitude.”
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Main image credit: Instagram/@miss_lira