Bret Michaels is known to put his fans first but, sometimes, doing that can actually put your life in jeopardy.
Michaels’ guitarist and friend, Pete Evick, has written a long entry on the singer’s Facebook page detailing the medical problems Bret has faced over the last couple of weeks.
Medical issues are not new to Bret. Along with his chronic diabetes, in 2010, he had an appendectomy, brain hemorrhage, which he attributed to being hit in the head by a piece of scenery during the 2009 Tony Awards, and was diagnosed with a whole in his heart that was fixed in early 2011.
According to Evick, Michaels had surgery earlier this week on his kidneys after having been in pain for a few days. Against doctor’s orders, shortly after the operation, he sprung himself from the hospital against doctor’s orders and headed for Champagne, IL to a charity event he had scheduled. During the ride, he began to have severe complications and, when he sought help, was advised again not to perform. Michaels finally relented and rescheduled the show from Thursday to Sunday.
Bret spent that night in the hospital and, due to complications, had to have two stents put in but, instead of resting, he once again signed himself out of the hospital to do a show in Memphis on Friday (Halloween) night. After the show, he checked into another hospital but left on Saturday for a show in Knoxville. It was there that things went terribly wrong.
Evick says in the post that there was a tremendous amount of blood on the bus after the show and, even though Michaels wanted to go back to Champagne for the makeup event, he was forced to go to another hospital where doctors gave him sedation to keep him put. Overall, he was in six hospitals over the course of a week.
The following is the full text of Evick’s post:
Hey There Bret Michaels Fans,
It’s Pete hacking Bret’s site again. I know that you have all heard that Bret had to reschedule a few shows lately. The phone calls, texts, and e-mails to all of us at Michaels Entertainment showing your concern and love for Bret, as always is overwhelming. He certainly has the most amazing fans in the world and you guys prove it over and over again. Many of you who have seen him in person over the course of the past few weeks have commented on how he didn’t look quite like himself and unfortunately you guys were right.
From the appendectomy a few years ago, the brain hemorrhage, and recently his scare in Boston with the flu/severe blood sugar on stage earlier this year, I’m usually the one who first comes to his fans with the info and updates. So why haven’t I this week? Well, this time it’s been really hard to find the words. You guys have to always remember I consider this guy my best friend. The one guy that gave, instead of took, and provided me the path to making all my wildest rock and roll dreams coming true. So when he’s hurt, I’m a friend first and reporter second.
That being said, this past week Bret had to have surgery on his kidneys. With all diabetes there are extra precautions and sometimes complications. The pain that led to the original surgery was so great that he simply could not perform last Thursday in Champaign. It first started in Mundelein, Illinois a few nights before. Even though Bret kept that to himself, it was noticeable that he wasn’t feeling great.
In typical Bret fashion, the fans come first and this event in Champaign was a charity event, which made Bret to want to make the show even more. So against medical direction he tried. On the way there he was forced to stop and seek more medical attention. Again, doctors advised him not to perform. At this point he had no choice as he simply couldn’t get from where he was to the event in time. Against his own wishes we were forced to postpone the show until Sunday.
That part of the story alone is testimony to the sheer passion he has for his fans. Bret always says, “I’m gonna go until I can’t go anymore”, which truly is incredible in my mind. While I unfortunately know this drill all too well, the new guys in our band and crew saw his dedication and devotion for the first time and were blown away. 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 Thursday that kept him from performing.
He spent the evening in the hospital and they had to put two stents in his body. He managed to bust out of the hospital and get to Memphis just minutes before our scheduled performance time to a huge crowd at our tailgate concert on Halloween night for the Memphis Tigers. Truthfully, I was even shocked and asked him not to do this. But no, Bret insisted that the fans come first even though he could barely even say that to me because he was hurting so much.
Then show time came and Bret hit the stage and the show went off flawlessly. Now to me who’s been by his side for ten years, I notice a little less “motion”. He wasn’t jumping up in the air like usual, but he still did what I guarantee nobody in half the pain he was could have done. Before I could even see if he was okay his bus pulled out and he was off again to another hospital. Certain that the next show in Knoxville wouldn’t happen on Saturday, I prepared to make the calls and post the info needed. To my surprise, I was again informed he was on his way. What? Are you kidding me? I’ve joked that he will die on that stage, but please not tonight. This time I actually begged him not to do this. We had a sold out show and he wasn’t gonna let the fans down. This argument when on for an hour…I lost.
This time it went real bad. During the show he gave 100 percent, but he hurt himself. 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. Bret looked at me and said, “Just head to Champaign, we have to make Thursday’s show up.”
Bret was again taken to a hospital and this time given medication that would keep him down. The doctors basically refused to release him. Causing us to postpone the charity event once again. Bret was truly devastated. It’s actually honorable to me that he always brings up the concern for the fans first before addressing his condition.
Over the last two weeks Bret was in and out of 6 hospitals throughout the Midwest. Including the incredible Mercy Hospital of Northwest Arkansas. The staff and doctors were unbelievable and took incredible care of Bret. The fans and venues have been amazing and their support unprecedented. Bret continues to be steadfast in his dedication to bring the music to the people. He truly has to be held down to not perform.
While the last few weeks have been tragic, Bret continues to be an inspiration in his ability to push on. 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.
Below is a pic I took of Bret in the hospital and of one of the stents that was in his body while he performed last week. I’ll keep you guys updated.
Thanks again!
Pete
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