ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)br STORY: A gaunt and breathless George Michael tearfully thanked his doctors and fans on Friday for seeing him through a severe bout with pneumonia.br A thin and visibly weak Michael told reporters outside his home in north London that he wasn't supposed to speak for very long and was still recovering from a tracheotomy.br The 48-year-old former Wham! frontman, who went on to pursue a successful solo career, was taken ill in the Austrian capital and diagnosed with severe pneumonia last month.