Tracey Emin was transported to a Thai hospital after her “small intestine nearly exploded.”
The 60-year-old artist, who was diagnosed with severe bladder cancer in 2020, was returning to the UK from Australia via Thailand when she became critically unwell.
Tracey was hospitalised to a hospital and treated for problems from an infection as well as scar tissue from earlier cancer procedures.
On Sunday, the world-famous artist confirmed her hospitalisation on Instagram, joking that she’d used up one of her “nine lives.”
Alongside a selfie, Tracey wrote: ‘This is my first post in a long time. I’ve had shows, I’ve been traveling and I’ve been very unwell.’
She went on: ‘Not cancer but horrible complications with my intestines brought on by an infection, scar tissue and made a million times worse by flying.
‘My small intestine nearly exploded. Luckily for me I was in Thailand on my way back from Australia, so I spent a few days in a very good hospital.’
Tracey said that she hid out in a fancy hotel on the island of Phuket after leaving the hospital and plans to stay in Thailand until she is healthy enough to travel.
Tracey also shared: ‘Now recovering in luxury … Apart from using up another one of my nine lives. I’d say I was very lucky. I’m now on a special diet and will fly when I’m well enough.
‘Meanwhile, it’s absolutely fantastic to be in love, not to be in pain and know how lucky I am.
‘Thank you @bangkokhospitalphuket and @amanpuri for looking after me.’
Tracey subsequently revealed on Instagram that she was fortunate not to be on a flight when she became unwell because she may have died if she had not received timely medical attention.
She added: ‘I was lucky not to be in the air, I was lucky that the doctor I saw knew what was wrong and I was lucky to be close to a good hospital and I was very lucky that my small intestine didn’t explode and I lucky that I didn’t die or end up with a second stoma and bag attached to me.
‘I was in the right place at the right time. I’d call that lucky. I’ve been an artist all my life I’m very, very lucky.’
Tracey’s health crisis comes a year after she received the ‘all clear’ following her bladder cancer diagnosis.
In 2020, she was diagnosed with a’very quick, highly aggressive’ cancer after detecting a growth in her bladder while working on a painting of a cancerous mass.
Tracey then underwent surgery to have many of her reproductive organs removed and a stoma bag placed.