Earlier this month, Drake White scared fans when he nearly collapsed on stage while opening for Scotty McCreery in Roanoke, Virginia. Drake complained of feeling lightheaded and ended up being rushed to the hospital. While many stars would have denied anything was wrong and would have blamed the incident on dehydration or exhaustion, Drake came clean about a medical condition he has that he’s known about since January.
Drake spoke exclusively with People to reveal that he has arteriovenous malformation, or AVM for short, which is “an abnormal tangle of arteries and veins in the brain that disrupts normal blood flow.”
The singer says he was diagnosed with AVM after having a headache that just wouldn’t go away.
“The next thing I know, there is a guy walking in with the word ‘neurologist’ on his nameplate. He told me, ‘You have a mass in the back of your head. It’s treatable, but it’s going to take a while.’ It was at that moment Alex and I said to each other that whatever it is, we would battle through it. Our faith went into overdrive.”
He says that the condition is serious and can cause a stroke if not treated. Luckily they found it when they did and since then the singer has had four surgeries, sometimes hitting the stage shortly after undergoing the procedure.
While undergoing the embolization process, White had kept up his touring schedule, often appearing onstage just days after a treatment. “There was a show in April that I played 48 hours after surgery,” he said. “And that was very therapeutic to me. Emotionally it made me realize that I could still do this. Maybe I wasn’t jumping around like I usually do, but I was doing it.”
So crazy! Drake says he still plans to keep up with touring, but will be taking it a little easier from now on.
Incredible that the singer’s been able to keep all of this under wraps for so long. We’ll be keeping you in our thoughts, Drake. Stay safe and stay healthy.
