Madonna has thanked her family and friends for their support after she was hospitalised with a serious bacterial infection last month.

The singer shared an update on social media saying she was lucky to be alive after her time in intensive care (ICU).

"When the chips were down my children really showed up for me. It made all the difference," she said.

The 64-year-old had previously said she was "on the road to recovery" after spending several days in the ICU.

She was due to begin a seven-month world tour in the coming weeks, but has had to postpone its start date by three months..

"Love from family and friends is the best medicine. One month out of the hospital and I can reflect," the pop star said on Instagram on Sunday.

"As a mother you can really get caught up in the needs of your children and the seemingly endless giving. But when the chips were down my children really showed up for me. I saw a side to them I had never seen before."

Madonna went on to thank her friends for their "love and support" in the post, which features a photo of her hugging her son David and another posing beside her daughter Lourdes.

She also shared an image of her holding a Polaroid photograph which she revealed was taken by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jackson's face painted on it.

She described the three artists as a "perfect triangle of brilliance" who "touched so many lives including my own".

'Fortunate'

The singer thanked her manager Guy Oseary for the present, adding: "I sobbed when I opened this gift because I realised how lucky I am to be alive.

"And how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone."

The post concluded: "And thank you to all my angels who protected me and let me stay to finish doing my work!"

In a previous statement earlier this month, Madonna said her plan was to reschedule the first leg of the tour, all in North America, and instead begin her Celebration Tour in the UK in October.

She had been due to start the greatest hits tour in Canada on 15 July. The European leg is scheduled to begin with four nights at London's O2 Arena from 14 October.

In announcing the tour back in January, she told fans: "I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for."

It was due to be her 12th tour, marking 40 years since the release of her first album.

American magazine Forbes lists her as the 45th richest self-made woman in the US with an estimated wealth of $580m (£460m) and says she has earned an estimated $1.2bn from tours.