After returning home for Thanksgiving, Long said she “woke up in the hospital” and was told by doctors that surgery was necessary.
“I knew for a really long time that something was wrong,” she said. “Every day I’m, like, spitting in cups and coughing all the time, trying to take all these medicines to just get through the day.”
Doctors told her the choice was hospice or transplant
Long said the music industry’s constant visibility made it harder to admit how sick she was. She kept making public appearances, even as basic exertion became difficult.
“With this industry, you’re always in people’s faces,” she said. “So, I’m taking pictures, and I’m just huffing and puffing like I just ran a marathon.”
Although she initially felt some improvement in the hospital, Long said medical staff later told her she had roughly one week to live.
“My jaw dropped,” she said. “Literally. I was like, ‘That’s rude.’ But they were kind of like, ‘Hey, this is not a joke. You need to make a choice. You can either go to hospice or you can get these lungs.’”
That is one way to make a medical consultation very efficient.
Why she agreed to the surgery
Long said her first hesitation was about whether the transplant would affect her voice. For a professional singer, that is not a small question. But she said the decision changed when she thought about her 3-year-old son, Tatum, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Raysean Hairston.
“But then I look at my son,” she said.
She added that survival and quality of life had to come before her career.
“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,” Long said.
Six months after the operation, Long said she is doing well and has no symptoms or infections.
Her message after the transplant
Long also used the interview to urge others, especially people with chronic illness, to take symptoms seriously and advocate for themselves. She said she “did not speak up for herself” as her health deteriorated.
“Lupus disproportionally affects Black women, who are just expected to show up and be everything for everybody,” she said. “Don’t put yourself on the back burner for everyone else.”
Her advice was direct: “You need to focus on you. You need to pour into yourself. Don’t be afraid to say no.”
