When country singer Drake White took the stage in an outdoor concert in Roanoke, Virginia, he was determined to give the people a good show. And he did give them one…sort of. Just 15 minutes into his performance, the 35-year-old Alabama native began to stumble and would’ve collapsed had a bandmate not caught him.
As expected, the singer’s fans were shocked and concerned for White following the incident. And now, they finally know the reason behind his surprising onstage mishap.
Opening Up
Apparently, White has been battling a serious brain condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM) for months now after being diagnosed with it early in 2019. The condition causes a disruption in the blood flow in the brain because of the abnormal tangling of veins and arteries in the delicate body part.
In an interview with People magazine weeks before his onstage stumble, White said that his condition was ‘basically stealing blood from my brain’. He also revealed that he could have had a stroke had the abnormality not been detected in time.
Since the discovery, White has been undergoing procedures to cut the blood flow in the affected vessels in his brain. The last of which actually happened just four days before his Roanoke concert.
In the end, the singer said that his decision to finally share the details of his illness is not just a decision he made for himself. White believes that his story would help people believe in miracles and that God himself wants him to share it.
Dangerous Diagnosis
According to People magazine, White’s health troubles began winter of last year when he suddenly developed an unshakeable headache. The pain got to a point when the singer began losing feeling on the left side of his body.
After trying to sleep off the headache, he decided to finally head to the emergency room with Alex, his wife. There he had to undergo an angiogram and an MRI which he described to be ‘excruciating’. He got his diagnosis days later and his doctors informed him it’s likely that he’s had the brain condition since birth.
Crucial Operations
In the eight months since that fateful day, White has reportedly undergone four embolization procedures. And according to the singer, his doctor is confident that they’ve successfully ‘knocked out’ about 75% of the mass in his vessels.
White also explained that the operations had to be spaced out so as not to overwhelm his brain with the amount of blood flow it’s suddenly getting. In fact, the singer said that he might have had a stroke and suffered some mobility problems if the mass was completely removed in one go.
Right now, he’s expecting to be ‘AVM-free’ by the end of this year. Bringing his 2019 to a more positive close that its start.
