Drake White Reveals Debilitating Brain Condition After Near-Collapse

Drake White Reveals Debilitating Brain Condition After Near-Collapse

Last Friday (August 16) Drake White was hospitalized after nearly collapsing on stage during his set in Roanoke, Virginia.

Wednesday (August 21), White revealed that he suffers from a debilitating brain condition. The "Livin The Dream" singer was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, an abnormal tangle of arteries and veins in the brain that disrupts normal blood flow. The diagnosis came back in January when White saw the doctor for a headache that wouldn't go away.

“That morning, I had worked out and went to a lunch meeting, and that’s when the headache started,” White recalled talking with People. “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.”

White and his wife, Alex, immediately headed to the emergency room for a MRI and an angiogram. "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," White shared.

Since his initial diagnosis, the country singer has been undergoing a series of embolization procedures to cut off blood flow to the affected vessels. His most recent procedure apparently came just four days before nearly collapsing, though it's not clear if the two are directly related or not.

White decided it was time to share what he's been going through, not for himself, but in hopes that his story might help someone else. "I'm not telling this story for me," White says. "Someone needs to hear it and God wants me to share it. It will help people believe in miracle, and I will feel that energy. The world needs that kind of energy right now."

Through the challenges that the last few months have brought, White and his wife Alex, continue to rely on their faith to get them through. "My attitude is better. From the moment I found out, I refused to see it as a problem. Rather, I chose to let it inspire me and help others. I have to think I've been going through all of this for a reason," White explains. "Everyone is going through something. You have to treat every person like it could be their last day. Not to be all sunshine and rainbows, but all of this made me appreciate all that I have and all that is to come."

Photo: Getty Images