the ground. Rushed to the
hospital, the “Livin’ the
Dream” and “Makin’ Me
Look Good Again” singer
later apologized to fans in
a tweet: “Sorry we had to
cut it short... Thanks for
your prayers and contin-
ued support.”
While the incident
shocked many, it came just
as White, 35, was finally
ready to reveal a secret
health battle he’s faced for
months now: In January
he was diagnosed with an
Arteriovenous Malfor-
mation (AVM), an abnor-
mal tangle of arteries and
veins in his brain that dis-
rupts normal blood flow.
(See box.) “It was basical-
ly stealing blood from my
brain,” White told People
in an exclusive interview
in July. “The neurologist
told me that I should be
thankful it was caught in
time, because it could have
caused a stroke.” Since
then he’s been undergoing
a series of embolization
procedures to cut off blood flow to the
affected vessels—the last just four days
before his onstage collapse. Though it is
still unclear if his near-fall was directly
related to that procedure or his con-
dition, the singer tweeted Aug. 19 that
he would be taking some time off from
touring as his doctors reevaluate his
treatment plan: “I’m gonna take some
time to rest up, and I can’t wait to get
back out there with y’all.”
White’s health ordeal began
in January 2019 when he was
at home in Nashville and devel-
oped a headache that wouldn’t
go away. “I had worked out and
went to a lunch meeting, and
that’s when the headache start-
ed,” White recalled. “By 2 p.m. I
was in bed seeing spots in my left
eye, and that’s when my left side started
going numb. I tried to sleep it off but woke
up with the same intense headache.”
Alarmed, the singer headed to the emer-gency room with his wife,
Alex, 33. “The next thing I
know, there is a guy walking
in with the word ‘neurolo-
gist’ on his nameplate,”
says White. “He told me
‘You have a mass in the
back of your head.’ 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.”
While undergoing the
embolization process—
“They’ve knocked out
about 75 percent of the
mass,” he says—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
says. “Emotionally it made
me realize that I could still
do this. Maybe I wasn’t
jumping around like I usu-
ally do, but I was doing it.”
But going forward the
star will be taking it a bit
easier on himself. And as
he and Alex await further test results
and news on his condition and prog-
nosis, they will be relying on their faith
to see them through. “Drake and I are
grateful to God and all he has done,” says
Alex speaking from her husband’s bed-
side Aug. 19. “He has worked miracles in
the last 24 hours.” •healthWHAT IS AVM?
Arteriovenous
Malformation
(AVM) is an
abnormal knot of
arteries and veins
that disrupt blood
flow from the heart
to the brain.
“It’s common to
have no symptoms
in your 20s and
30s,” says Nashville
neurosurgeon
Dr. Robert Mericle,
who treats White
(below in July).
“But these vessels
often get weaker as
you get older and
can lead to bleeding
or a stroke.”‘I have to
think I’vebeen going
through
all this for
a reason’PEOPLE September 2, 2019 53In Sickness
and in Health
“Alex has been
phenomenal,”
says White
(with his wife
on their wedding
day in 2014).