Singer Kelly Price has come forward to address the incident surrounding her reported disappearance. Over the weekend, the singer’s family members expressed concerns over the gospel singer’s whereabouts after she essentially went ghost following a severe bout with COVID-19.
In a video interview with TMZ, the “As We Lay” singer detailed her difficult battle with the virus, revealing at one point she was medically dead.
“At some point they lost me,” the Grammy Award-nominated artist revealed. “I woke up some days later, a couple days later, and the first thing I remember is the team of doctors standing around me and asking me if I knew what year it was.” When asked to clarify what she meant by “they lost me,” the songstress replied, “I died.”
Price also clarified rumors that she was ever “missing.” The “Friend of Mine” singer said she had been fighting the disease for over a week with no signs of improvement. She said her husband — in communication with her primary care doctor — was tending to her needs before her temperature shot to 103 and she had to be rushed to the hospital.
As for the weeks her family says she went unaccounted for, Price said, she was discharged because the hospital needed beds and she was sent home with oxygen to assist her with her breathing. During the time, her family said no one had seen her. However, Price said she had home health aides checking on her routinely.
“Which is what happened for a period of four weeks after being released from the hospital. So, people were definitely seeing me,” she explained. “The people that could actually say something are not allowed to because of HIPAA law [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which guards the privacy of patients]. But I was being seen several times a week by home health aides after being released on oxygen.”
She also addressed the issue of her sister reporting that the family had not heard from her, saying that she had not been in contact with her for some time as the two have “been strained for a very long time.” She said she hasn’t seen her sister in one year, after the two were together at their mother’s funeral.
The former “R&B Divas : L.A.” star said she received her first negative COVID-19 test about a week ago, but her war with COVID is far from over. Price reportedly now is a “long hauler,” which refers to people who continue to have lingering complications from the virus. She said she “is facing a very uphill battle right now.”
She also said in recent weeks, she’s had to leave her home to get rest because fans and others were showing up ringing her doorbell “all hours of the day and night.”
As previously reported, Price informed her fans of her COVID-19 status in July, telling them she was “following Dr’s order.” Over the weekend, however, outlets began reporting her missing after they failed to get in contact with the singer. Her lawyer, Monica Ewing, later released a statement confirming her that she was alive and just focusing on getting better.
On Instagram, Price thanked her fans For their “love, concern and prayers.” She later added ”I’m going back into solace and silence Where I can put first things first and that is to be restored to be healthy and to be whole.”
