Delta Goodrem realises she can’t speak in heartbreaking video – causing fears her career was over

This is the heartbreaking moment Delta Goodrem woke up unable to speak, let along sing, after complications from salivary gland removal surgery.

The celebrated musician, 35, posted the confronting footage to Instagram on Sunday, which showed her slurring her words and unable to control her speech following the procedure two years ago.

She could barely communicate due to paralysis of a nerve in her tongue, but has since made a full recovery and has used the ordeal as inspiration for her new single, Paralyzed. 

In a video filmed in October 2018, The Voice star is seen breaking down in tears at the thought that her career may be over.

Struggling to form her words, Delta wept: ‘I don’t want to go out, I’m super embarrassed… I’m super embarrassed, I’m just over it! I’m just trying to stay positive.

‘My livelihood is my sound… I’m trying to decide whether this is getting any better or not. It doesn’t feel like it.’  

In another video from immediately after her surgery, Delta had seemed more positive about her situation.

Clutching her throat as she lay in the hospital bed, a drained-looking Delta said: ‘I’m taking this as a rebirth thing… rebirth… 34.’ 

When a nerve is damaged there is no predicting if or when it may recover. 

Delta went through months of rehabilitation, including daily speech therapy, to get her voice back.

Other footage shows the Born to Try singer practising vowel and consonant sounds, as well as the phrase, ‘When the sunlight strikes, raindrops in the air.’

Delta had kept the surgery a secret until Sunday, deciding to announce it on Instagram as a way of explaining why she had not released new music.

‘It’s been a strange process not actually sharing it straight away, but I just didn’t know if I was ready yet,’ Delta admitted in a clip shared to her Instagram Stories. 

‘I share this with you as an artist sharing where the poetry in this song comes from, and as a human who deeply feels and understands that everyone has their own story and their own challenges,’ she continued.  

This year, Delta has released the first two singles from her forthcoming sixth studio album: Keep Climbing and Paralyzed. 

Delta previously told Daily Mail Australia that Keep Climbing is about ‘reminding  people to not be afraid to find their strength’.

‘[It’s about being able] to find that part in you to keep climbing and to continue to believe that it will lead you to that next moment in your life,’ she said.