Bret Michaels could use some "get well" wishes right about now. The rocker, 51, recently underwent kidney surgery after being hospitalized six times in a period of two weeks, his friend and fellow musician Pete Evick revealed to fans on Monday, Nov. 10, via Michaels' website and Facebook page.
Evick has been known to post about his pal's health problems in the past, but Michaels' most recent scare really threw him for a loop. "You guys have to always remember I consider this guy my best friend…So when he's hurt, I'm a friend first and reporter second," he wrote.
"That being said, this past week Bret had to have surgery on his kidneys. With all diabetes there are extra precautions and sometimes complications," Evick explained in a long letter to Michaels' fans. (The rocker has Type 1 diabetes.) "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."
According to Evick, the Celebrity Apprentice alum spent the night of the Champaign show in the hospital, where doctors put two stents in his body. They advised him not to perform after that, but he resisted their recommendation and put on a great show on Halloween night for the Memphis Tigers, and then in Knoxville the following Saturday.
During the Knoxville show, however, Michaels injured himself onstage. "Jumping around with two stents was a bad idea," Evick wrote. "I can't explain the amount of blood or where it came from, but it was horrifying on his bus after the show."
As a result of the injury, the former Poison frontman had to be taken to yet another hospital. "Over the last two weeks," Evick wrote, "Bret was in and out of six hospitals throughout the Midwest, including the incredible Mercy Hospital of Northwest Arkansas. The staff and doctors were unbelievable and took incredible care of Bret."
Evick concluded by saying that Michaels was on the road to recovery, and had "no plans to postpone or reschedule any more shows this year," despite the fact that he's "still not 100 percent" better. "While the last few weeks have been tragic," Evick shared, "Bret continues to be an inspiration in his ability to push on."
This is not Michaels' first serious health scare. Back in 2010, he had both a massive brain hemorrhage and an emergency appendectomy; he also had to be rushed offstage earlier this year due to extremely low blood sugar.
