AFTER HEALTH SCARE, GARY V IS NOT RETIRING YET

"I WASN'T SURE IF I could do this concert tonight after battling with severe hydration," said Gary Valenciano onstage Sunday night for the second performance schedule of "Pure Energy: One Last Time" at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

- By LEAH C. SALTERIO

The total entertainer fell ill on Friday after throwing up, causing the show to end prematurely after only eight songs and Gary to be rushed to the hospital.

"I'm really taking my time because I want to finish this show for you," Gary told his audience. "I'm not running on empty because I'm running on the fuse of God."

Gary has been a juvenile diabetic since he was 14. No wonder there was a portable IV (intravenous) strapped to his left arm while he was performing.

But the show must go on. That was always an important declaration in show business. Everyone was on tenterhooks on Sunday morning, when even from his hospital bed, Gary assured everyone the second night of his "Pure Energy: One Last Time" concert would go on as scheduled.

"I will be at the Araneta today," announced Gary on social media Sunday morning. "No weapon formed against me will prosper."

The statement sounded tentative for everybody, but Araneta Coliseum was filled to the rafters, and everyone was anticipating whether or not Gary could pull through with his promise.

Before the announcement was made, Gary was cleared by his endocrinologist of 19 years, Dr. Michael Villa, to be discharged and checked out for Sunday night's concert.

"At 8:15 this morning, I told my wife, 'I cannot do this concert,'" Gary shared. "But the kind of wife that Angeli is, she was persistent. She believed I could not do it, but God can."

At the Big Dome, the atmosphere of excitement was palpable. Everyone anticipated Gary's entry into the stage as he started the performance with his iconic Shout for Joy anthem, with close to a hundred dancers backing him up.