Bret Michaels Hospitalized for Kidney Surgery

Bret Michaels recently experienced severe health issues, interrupting his Midwest tour dates in October. The Poison frontman had been experiencing ongoing pains that caused him to cancel a charity event in Champaign, Ill. on Oct. 30, even though he tried to make it against doctors’ advice, reported Michaels’ guitarist, producer and longtime friend Pete Evick on Michaels’ website.
“Bret always says, ‘I’m gonna go until I can’t go anymore’, which truly is incredible in my mind,” Evick wrote. “Keep in mind, when his appendix was bursting a few years ago, our intro music was rolling and no matter what I or anyone said to him, he was going on that stage. So imagine the pain he was in … that kept him from performing.”

Michaels spent that night in the hospital and had two stents put in his body, restricting his motion onstage during following dates in Memphis and Knoxville, Tenn. These two shows took their toll and after the Knoxville gig, Michaels hurt himself badly.

Evick describes it: “Jumping around with two stents was a bad idea. I can’t explain the amount of blood or where it came from, but it was horrifying on his bus after the show.”

Michaels received treatment and “medication that would keep him down,” Evick said, and the doctors basically refused to release him. In that two weeks touring the Midwest, Evick said Michaels was in and out of six hospitals. But he is recovering and won’t cancel anymore shows. He plays Jacksonville and Fort Myers, Fla., Thursday and Friday.

“While the last few weeks have been tragic, Bret continues to be an inspiration in his ability to push on,” wrote Evick. “He’s still not 100 percent, but there are no plans to postpone or reschedule any more shows this year. While he was in dire pain, he still played an amazing show to an enormous crowd in Vegas a few days ago. We will see you guys this weekend in Florida.”

Source: Billboard