Madonna gave fans an insight into the punishing preparations for her world tour in a final Instagram post before she was found unconscious in a  New York hotel room and rushed to hospital. 

The pop legend, 64, is currently being treated for a ‘severe bacterial infection,’ resulting in the postponement of her 84-date Celebration Tour, which was expected to start in Vancouver, Canada on July 15. 

An ominous social media post, shared by Madonna on June 20, appeared to foreshadow her illness as she shared a series of backstage photos while rehearsing with her team.

In a series of images, the singer is pictured sprawled across the stage after working her way through one of the show’s choreographed routines, while others find her seated at the piano or conversing with members of her entourage.

Captioning the post, she wrote: ‘The calm before the storm…’ 

Calm before the storm: Madonna gave fans an insight into the punishing preparations for her world tour in a final Instagram post before she was found unconscious in a New York hotel room

Break time: In a series of images, the singer is pictured sprawled across the stage after working her way through one of the show’s choreographed routines

Madonna’s condition was so serious that her relatives were ‘preparing for the worst,’ a family member has told DailyMail.com.

The  singer was found unconscious in New York on Saturday, and rushed to the ICU where she was reportedly intubated overnight.

On Wednesday, her manager Guy Oseary announced that she was suffering from a ‘serious bacterial infection’, and needed time to recover so was postponing her tour, due to begin in Vancouver on July 15.

The Michigan-born singer’s relative told DailyMail.com they spent several traumatic days unsure if she was going to pull through.

The family member said the shocking collapse was a wake-up call for Madonna, who believes she is ‘invincible’ and has been pushing herself extremely hard to prepare for the tour.

‘For the past couple of days, no one really knew which direction this was going to turn, and her family was preparing for the worst,’ the relative said.

‘That is why it was kept a secret since Saturday.

‘Everyone believed that we may lose her and that has been the reality of the situation.’

Let’s talk: Other pictures find her conversing with members of her entourage

On the mend: The pop legend, 64, is currently being treated for a ‘severe bacterial infection,’ resulting in the postponement of her 84-date Celebration Tour

Madonna is mother to six children: Lourdes, 26; Rocco, 22; David, 17; Mercy, 17; and 10-year-old twins Stella and Estere.

Lourdes was by her side throughout her hospitalization, The New York Post reported.

She posts frequent tributes to her 92-year-old father, Silvio Ciccone, and is close to several of her siblings.

Madonna has three sisters – Paula, Melanie and Jennifer – and four brothers: Anthony, Martin, Christopher and Mario.

Anthony died in February from throat cancer and respiratory failure, aged 66.

The Ciccone siblings all keep a low profile, leaving the limelight to their megastar relation.

The family source told DailyMail.com that her sudden hospitalization united them.

‘All of Madonna’s family members have come together over this,’ the relative said.

And it served as a reminder to the singer that she needed to take care of herself.

‘This really woke her the f*** up.

‘She has not been living as healthy a life as she should be for her age, and she has been wearing herself thin over the past couple of months.

‘She thinks that she is still young when, in fact, she is not. She also believes that she is invincible.’

Sources close to the singer said she has been working around the clock to ensure that her tour is perfect, with one revealing that she has been rehearsing six days a week.

Another told DailyMail.com in April that she was ‘driving everyone up the wall with her perfectionism’.

At the time the source said that Madonna was ‘in incredible shape’.

The family source said on Wednesday that discussion of her tour is banned from her bedside, because the famously hard-working singer needed to rest.

‘Everything, including this tour, is taking a backseat right now and no one is allowed to even mention anything work related around her because she will lose her s***,’ the relative added.

‘She will put her career and her fame before her health until the day she is dead.’