Drake White Is Learning to Walk, Play Guitar Again While Battling Brain Disorder

It has been an uphill battle for Drake White, at least when it comes to his health, but he isn’t one to give up. The singer revealed, after collapsing on stage during a show in August, that he was battling arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a tangling of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. White, who was already being treated for AVM, was hospitalized following his collapse on stage, which he said included the most intense and painful headache he had ever experienced.

White is still receiving treatment for AVM, and expects to make a full recovery, even though it may take some time.

“I’m about a 6 out of 10. I’m walking on a cane, I’ve got movement in my left side,” White said in a recent episode of The Doctors. “I’m starting to play guitar again.”

White has had to cancel several shows in the wake of his recovery, but he assures fans that he will be back to the stage. In fact, it’s thinking of performing, and being with his fans who have supported him throughout his career, that is helping to “heal” him.

“I think about me back on stage. Those thoughts are what is healing me,” White said, adding that he is still making music, even while recovering. “It kind of is a healing agent of its own. I just continued to push through and make sure I was writing as I was going through this process. It made me feel good and made me feel like my purpose was still there.”

White’s problems began in the beginning of 2019, when he started experiencing headaches.

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

It was White’s wife, Alex, who convinced him to go to the doctor, which could have saved his life.

“It was basically stealing blood from my brain,” White explained. “The neurologist told me that I should be thankful it was caught in time, because it could have caused a stroke.”

White currently does not have any concerts scheduled, while he continues to focus on his health and recovery. Updates will be posted on his website as available.

Photo Credit: Getty / Rob Ball