Bret Michaels performs through "intense" pain before getting kidney stone surgery

Rocker and Pittsburgh-area native Bret Michaels says he's recovering from surgery to remove a kidney stone after he performed several shows through "intense" pain. 

In a Facebook post earlier this week, Michaels, the lead singer of Poison, said he tried to wait out the kidney stone for almost seven days, but it wouldn't pass. He said the pain became "intense," but he played through shows in Charleston, West Virginia, and Grantville, Pennsylvania, as well as a private show at the Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, for veterans, active duty members and their families.

After the show in Spokane, Michaels said he was admitted to the hospital because the "pain became too much" and the kidney stone wouldn't pass. 

Michaels said the operation to remove the stone is done, and he's now in post-op recovery, "doing everything within my power to feel better and continue playing great shows for great fans when I've got a complete clean bill of health." 

"I am wise enough to know how important family, friends, fans, doctors and nurses play such a vital role in our everyday health," Michaels wrote in his Facebook post. 

He also thanked the frontline workers, doctors and nurses who have taken care of him. 

Michaels is a Butler native and was last in the Steel City to perform with other Pittsburghers like Wiz Khalifa and KELS during the NFL draft.