Canadian singer Avril Lavigne was bedridden for five months during the past year, a victim of Lyme's disease. "I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move," she told People magazine. "I thought I was dying.

"I had no idea a bug bite could do this," said Lavigne, who believes she was bitten by a tick a year ago. She'd felt badly and had no energy for months, but doctors had no answers. It was after celebrating her 30th birthday in October that she finally got a diagnosis — severe Lyme's disease.

"There were definitely times I couldn't shower for a full week because I could barely stand," she told People. "It felt like having all your life sucked out of you," said Lavigne who is recuperating at her home in Ontario.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection passed to humans through the bites of infected blacklegged ticks. Symptoms include fever, headache, and fatigue, and, if untreated, can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Most cases can be successfully treated with antibiotics.

Now firmly on the road to recovery, Lavigne says her ordeal was a wakeup call. "I really just want to enjoy life from here on out," she said.

To read the entire People article, go here.