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Whoopi Goldberg is getting by with a little help from her friends and her famous sense of humor. The View‘s Goldberg gave an update on her health via recorded video message on Friday’s episode, explaining why she hasn’t made an appearance on the show since Feb. 6. A scary illness has apparently forced her to take time off of work, but luckily her health seems to be improving.

“Hey, yes, it’s me,” she said in  the pre-recorded video. “I am here. I am up and moving around — not as fast as I’d like to be, but I am okay. I’m not dead. Here’s what happened.”

Goldberg went on to reveal that she had contracted pneumonia in both lungs, as well as the bacterial infection known as sepsis. Despite her joking tone, she was so sick that she could have died.

“Yes, I came very close to leaving the earth,” she admitted. “Good news, I didn’t. Thank you for all of your good wishes, all of the wonderful things that people have been saying.

She went on to joke that “even people who aren’t huge fans of mine have actually been saying nice things about me. We all know that’s going to change when I get back, but for right now, it’s brilliant.”

Goldberg also addressed her View cohosts, saying, “Ladies, I cannot wait to see y’all. This has been interesting and I’ll tell you about it when we’re all at the table. To everybody, see you soon.”

People notes that The View first addressed Goldberg’s illness and subsequent absence from the show on Feb. 20, when rumors began circulating that she was secretly preparing to host the Academy Awards. Joy Behar revealed at the time that Goldberg was recovering from pneumonia, but she said, “I saw her last night and she’s very funny still, and we had big laughs. She’s getting there, she’s on the mend.”

We’re so glad to hear that Goldberg is doing better, health-wise and we wish her the best as she continues to recover.