Shania Twain says besides leaving a permanent scar on her neck, the Lyme disease has changed her voice forever. The 52-year-old singer, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2003, made a comeback recently after a hiatus of 15 years. Twain opened up on how Lyme altered her life.


"Does my voice sound deeper? It does, though, doesn't it?" she told The Mirror newspaper. The singer said when she was diagnosed she feared she would not be able to sing again but she was lucky that her condition was diagnosed and treated so quickly.


"I thought I'd never sing again... It was nerve damage from Lyme disease. I saw a tick fall off me and I got treated right away, otherwise the damage would have been a lot more extensive.


"I was on tour, and I almost fell off the stage every night because I was so dizzy. I felt lucky when I found out the cause, because the disease can go to your brain or heart," she said.


Twain said she decided to launch a comeback seven years into her hiatus. "I started writing more intently and I realised that some parts of my voice were still there. It's been a long process, and now surgery."


She launched her comeback album 'Now' last year and described the songwriting process "like a diary entry". "Songwriting is like a diary entry, though sometimes I listen back and think, 'Oh my God, that's way too personal...'," she said. -- PTI


Image: Shania Twain. Pic courtesy @ShaniaTwain