Whoopi Goldberg makes surprise return to 'The View'

March 14 (UPI) -- Whoopi Goldberg made a surprise return to The View following her health scare.

The 63-year-old television personality was met with hugs and cheers from her co-hosts on Thursday's episode amid her recovery from pneumonia.

Goldberg gave an update on her health and said she will slowly make her official return to the daytime talk show in the coming weeks.

"This is my first foray out," the star said. "I'm not there yet, I know that. But the only way it's going to get better is if I begin. So this is my beginning."

"I still have a cough and that's the last thing to go, apparently. Over the next week and a half, I will start to be here more often," she shared. "I wanted to first foray to come see y'all, because I really kind of missed y'all."

Goldberg conveyed the seriousness of her illness, which landed her in the hospital for three weeks.

"There's death and here's me. That's how it was," she said. "I had double pneumonia and sepsis ... This is a cautionary tale for all of us. You must really take care of yourself."

Goldberg had been absent from The View since Feb. 6. She gave a health update on the show via video message last week.

"I'm up and moving around -- not as fast as I'd like to be -- but I am okay. I'm not dead," the star said.

"I had pneumonia and I was septic," she confirmed. "Pneumonia in both lungs, which meant there was fluid -- there was all kinds of stuff going on. And yes, I came very, very close to leaving the earth. Good news -- I didn't."