Madonna Breaks Silence After Massive Health Scare, Postponing Start of Tour

Madonna is speaking out for the first time since her hospitalization, announcing to fans she's made the difficult decision to delay her tour until October.

In a message to fans posted Monday, Madonna says, "My first thought when I woke up in the hospital was my children. My second thought was that I did not want to disappoint anyone who bought tickets for my tour."

Madonna goes on to say, "I also didn't want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show. I hate to disappoint anyone."

The singer says her focus will now turn to her health and getting better ... but because of that, she's delayed her July 15 start date of the Celebration tour to October in Europe.

Madonna was first supposed to start in North America -- with the show on the 15th kicking off in Vancouver -- but now it'll be her European fans who see the tour first.

As we reported, Madonna was seen out for the first time since she was sent to the ICU with a serious bacterial infection last month. The singer was in bad shape at the time of the medical episode -- unresponsive and intubated as she fought for her life.