Rock star Bret Michaels’ guitarist and friend Pete Evick revealed this week that the singer’s ongoing health issues hit critical mass during his Nov. 1 Knoxville show, and Michaels was hospitalized as a result.
Evick says he “actually begged” Michaels to not go on with the show at Cotton Eyed Joe, but Michaels insisted on taking the stage.
In a message posted Monday night onwww.bretmichaels.com, Evick says Michaels, frontman for the band Poison, has been struggling with health issues for years – including an appendectomy and brain hemorrhage. Evick then documents more recent woes for the diabetic Michaels.
In his post, Evick explains that Michaels had had two stents put in before his Oct. 31 show in Memphis. After that performance, Evick was convinced the Knoxville show would be cancelled, adding, “I was prepared to make calls and post the info needed.”
Yet Michaels insisted on performing.
“This time it went real bad,” Evick writes. “During the (Knoxville) 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.”
Michaels has been in and out of six different hospitals in the last couple of weeks, Evick says, but adds that there are no plans to cancel or postpone any future shows as the tour continues. “We will see you guys this weekend in Florida,” he writes.
Evick writes that he delayed posting about Michaels’ health problems because, “It’s been really hard to find the words. … I consider this guy my best friend. … I’m a friend first and reporter second.”
