Muni Long revealed she underwent a double lung transplant after doctors told her she had one week to live following her exit from Brandy and Monica’s The Boy Is Mine Tour.
“I should have never taken that tour. But there was so much going on in my life where I had to do it,” Long said. Long has lived with lupus since 2014 and developed pneumonia on the road. By her last show, she said, “I just barely made it. I was only able to do two songs.”
“I knew for a really long time that something was wrong. Every day I’m, like, spitting in cups and coughing all the time. Trying to take all these medicines to get through the day. With this industry, you’re always in people’s faces. So, I’m taking pictures, and I’m just huffing and puffing like I just ran a marathon,” she said.
After Thanksgiving, Long “woke up in the hospital.” Doctors told her she needed new lungs.
“My jaw dropped. Literally. I was like, ‘That’s rude.’ But they were kind of like, ‘This is not a joke. You need to make a choice. You can either go to hospice or you can get these lungs,’” she recalled.
Long said fear over her voice nearly stopped her. “The ego and the vanity was just like, ‘But what about my voice? What’s going to happen?’ But then I look at my son, and I think about how much more life that I have to live. Quality of life was first. I can’t sing if I’m not here,” she said.
Six months later, she says she is doing “fabulous.”
“Tomorrow is my last appointment for all the things,” Long said. “No symptoms. Asymptomatic. No infections. None of that. Then I have my vocal checkup, six months will be in August because I had to have vocal surgery, as well.”
Long announced her tour exit on November 29, writing, “As many of you know, I’ve been battling some health issues throughout The Boy Is Mine Tour. Despite doing everything I can to push through, my doctors have made it clear that it’s not safe for me to continue with the remaining dates of the tour.”
“I’ll truly miss seeing you all out there, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. Thank you to Brandy and Monica for having me and sharing the stage with me. I can’t wait to see you all again. Stronger than ever,” she added.
Now, Long is releasing “The Riches,” her final song before the crisis.
“My voice now is totally different. It’s actually better, should I say? But I don’t know that I can perform yet. They gave me six months to a year,” she said.
The Lupus Foundation of America says lupus is two to three times more common among women of color than White women.
