Colt Ford is already back on stage after a difficult year, not just for live music in general, but for the 51-year-old country rap artist who got diagnosed with eye cancer.
At first, the hitmaker did not take the fact that there’s a spot dotting his eye seriously till it began to grow. But fans are glad that he’s alright and back at his old tricks on the stage.
In a new interview, Ford revealed the health scare he experienced and how he ultimately ended up getting an eye surgery after doctors diagnosed him with eye cancer.
Colt Ford Shares His Health Ordeal
The country rap star’s ordeal began in March of this year when a friend alerted him of a spot in his eye. He wasn’t overly alarmed at the time and was recommended some eye drops by an optometrist friend, but instead of going away, the spot began to grow larger.
“I went to a doctor in Georgia that specialized in cataracts and all that stuff, and I remember them saying, ‘This ain’t good’ and ‘You gotta get this out,’” Ford shares with PEOPLE. “They wanted me to go see a cornea specialist, Dr. Uyen Tran, in Nashville, and that’s when I started getting really nervous.”
It was a grim moment for him to hear the diagnosis of his doctor and the required treatment for it.
“The doctor told me I was a week to 10 days from having to go on full chemo,” Ford recalls.
The “Back” singer revealed that he underwent eye surgery in April, sharing the news of his diagnosis with fans shortly before going in for the procedure.
“Gonna get this stuff out of my Eye today,” he wrote, jokingly adding, “Guess the good thing is that I can pull off the pirate look if I have to.”
He also told PEOPLE that the surgery took place on Tuesday, but that he was already back on stage playing a live show by Friday.
He continues to treat his eyes with drops and he says that he’ll be alert to his condition going forward. Despite the ordeal, the country rapper has managed to find a good side to his diagnosis and surgery.
“I had so many friends asking, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?'” Ford relates. “But I just thought everyone was dealing with so much stuff and stress … I didn’t want to put that burden on anyone else. But it did feel good to have so many people reach out to me. It reminded me that it’s not always about the music. They actually care about me — the person.”
Colt Ford on Moving Forward with His Music
Ford also admitted that the lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic put a toll on his mental health, and that he was already struggling prior to his diagnosis. He also revealed that he was heavily dependent on antidepressants for much of the lockdown in order to cope with his mental struggles.
“I’m a happy guy and I love being with people and playing my music for people, so lockdown was just brutal for me,” he states. “I did what I could to pay my band and such, but it just hurt me that I couldn’t do more.”
Ford is already working to release what will become his latest single when it drops on May 28, “When Country Comes Back”, and he’s happily back on the road for his When Country Comes Back Tour, which kicked off on May 7. He will be on the road till mid-November.
Keep checking Country Music Lane for daily country music news and more Colt Ford updates.