Bret Michaels Had Kidney Surgery; Hospitalized 6 Times in 2 Weeks

— -- Bret Michaels' health has taken an unfortunate turn.

The singer recently had kidney surgery and has been hospitalized six times in two weeks, his longtime guitarist and friend Pete Evick revealed on Facebook and Michaels' website.

"Over the last two weeks Bret was in and out of 6 hospitals throughout the Midwest. Including the incredible Mercy Hospital of Northwest Arkansas. The staff and doctors were unbelievable and took incredible care of Bret," Evick wrote. "Bret continues to be steadfast in his dedication to bring the music to the people. He truly has to be held down to not perform."

Michaels, 51, had two stents put in his body in the past week, Evick explained. Shortly after the procedure, in spite of his team and doctors' requests, he insisted on performing. After the show, he was hospitalized briefly again, and then made his way to his next performance.

"This time it went real bad. During the 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," Evick wrote.

"Bret was again taken to a hospital and this time given medication that would keep him down. The doctors basically refused to release him. Causing us to postpone the charity event once again. Bret was truly devastated. It's actually honorable to me that he always brings up the concern for the fans first before addressing his condition."

This is not the first time Michaels has had health issues. The rocker, who has Type 1 diabetes, had an emergency appendectomy in 2010, shortly after which he suffered a suffered a hemorrhage at the base of his brain stem. In spite of those setbacks, however, he has always tried to get on stage for his fans as quickly as possible, and this time is no different.

"While the last few weeks have been tragic, Bret continues to be an inspiration in his ability to push on. He's still not 100 percent, but there are no plans to postpone or reschedule any more shows this year," Evick wrote. "While he was in dire pain, he still played an amazing show to an enormous crowd in Vegas a few days ago. We will see you guys this weekend in Florida."