Tina Turner's Instagram Gave Us Insight About Her Health Weeks Before Her Death
Tina Turner, who died aged 83 after a long-standing battle with ill health, had insightful news to share about her struggles on Instagram just weeks before her death.
The queen of rock and roll and "What's Love Got to Do with It" fame died in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, as confirmed by Turner's manager Bernard Doherty (via EW). The musician had already faced many years of challenges when it came to her health, having suffered a stroke in 2013 and intestinal cancer in 2016. Her most recent struggles culminated in a kidney transplant in 2017 after she began experiencing severe kidney failure.
The singer took to her official Instagram on World Kidney Day (March 9) to shed light on the importance of showing your kidneys some love. "Today is International World Kidney Day. Why is it important? Because kidneys fail without pain. And that's why I'm telling you today: Show your kidneys love! They deserve it," she shared.
Tina Turner: 'I have put myself in great danger'
The native of Nutbush, Tennessee, who rose to fame with her husband Ike in the 1960s, went on to talk about her own individual battle with kidney failure.
"My kidneys are victims of my not realising that my high blood pressure should have been treated with conventional medicine. I have put myself in great danger by refusing to face the reality that I need daily, lifelong therapy with medication," she wrote. Turner was candid when she accepted her apparent shortsightedness when it came to how she treated her body. The post read, "For far too long I believed that my body was an untouchable and indestructible bastion. I am therefore delighted to be able to support a new international campaign for kidney health. You can read the whole story of my disease on the website www.showyourkidneyslove.com."
News of Turner's death was announced on Instagram also. "With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow," the post read. "Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music."
Turner's second husband Erwin Bach gave her his kidney because he didn't want another life
Turner's kidneys were in extremely bad shape before her second husband and German music executive Erwin Bach (67) stepped in and offered to give her his own.
Recalling the moment in her autobiography, "My Love Story," Turner shared, "I couldn't eat. I was surviving but not living. I began to think about death. If my kidneys were going, and it was time for me to die, I could accept that. It was OK. When it's time, it's really time." But Bach had other plans. After testing for whether or not he was a match, the husband and wife duo went into surgery in April 2017.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey on OWN, Turned shared that she couldn't believe what was happening at first, when her husband offered her his kidney. "First I didn't believe him and then I realized he was serious. And then after he left the hospital, I had to lay there and think, 'Erwin is going to give me his kidney. Maybe he does love me.'" The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame star shared that she always had trouble believing in people's love for her. "I had to really take grips of the fact that that is what he was about to do," she added. The kidney donation that her husband offered undoubtedly gave Turner a new lease on life, but unfortunately, the legendary singer succumbed to her many health problems six years afterward.