Local singer/songwriter Robb Nash had head surgery at the Mayo Clinic on Friday, October 31.

Nash explains he has suffered from more and more pain over the last couple years due to the reconstructive skull surgery from his car accident. He says the pain has, at times, been overwhelming and he has even cancelled shows because it became too much. He notes he tried to find a solution but nothing seemed possible after speaking with a few doctors in Manitoba.

A few months ago, Nash says, a couple approached him and said, "Robb, we'd like to support you. We don't want to see you in pain anymore and we want to make sure you can help as many people as possible on this tour. We'd like to pay for you to go down and see the best doctors at the Mayo Clinic in the states and see if there's any way that they can help you."

He says this is just one of the ways he has seen people support the work his team does including another couple who bought him a tour bus a few years ago.

Nash explains when he first went to the Mayo Clinic and met with a few neurologists, the first couple said they didn't think there was anything they could do, however, one other neurologist saw something on the MRI which sparked his attention and lead him to dig deeper into Nash's case. In the end Nash was able to have reconstructive surgery in the hopes of relieving his pain.

"So I went down and they opened up my skull," explains Nash. "They took out all the old metal that was in there and two of the screws were completely loose, which could have been a major cause for the pain. But they also found a big hole where they said there was literally no protection; no bone covering it, no metal, no nothing. A hole right through the bone to the brain. They said that alone with the nerve exposure would cause a ton of pain. So they opened it up and they took out the old metal and they put in a whole new metal plate covering the whole thing. So it's like I've got a Jewish Yamaka underneath my skin now made of metal and I'm really happy about it."

He says the couple who originally offered to pay for his surgery has been contacted by other individuals wanting to contribute to help pay for Nash's surgery. He says it's encouraging to see how much people love the work his team does and want to support them in their mission. 

"To be honest with you, I'm overwhelmed. I don't know how to say thank you to these people because although I do have some pain in my skin and my skull, just from having head surgery, I can already feel that this pain I felt for years, I haven't felt since."

Nash says he wasn't scared during the process, but excited. He notes when he walked into the Mayo Clinic there were about 20 other people waiting to see a neurologist. Nash says when he looked around, there were people who were having a bad day or who were going through something worse than him and decided he wanted to encourage someone else in the waiting room instead of focusing on his own pain.

During the tour Nash says there are many young people who have gone through horrific experiences but when asked if they were worried about themselves when they encourage or help others their answer is 'no.' Nash notes they try encourage people they meet on their tours to take the focus off themselves for a moment and encourage someone else.

"I think it's a part of our DNA; we're supposed to be helping the people around us. A part of our own healing is sharing our story. We have such a self-absorbed world where we walk around and we think of ourselves. We live in a world where we go to school, we get a job, we drink coffee when we're tired and there's a lot more to this world than that. When you take your focus off yourself and help somebody else, that's bigger than any other drug addiction you could have; helping somebody else gives you that fulfillment."

Nash returned home from surgery on November 1 and is recovering before officially going back on tour. 

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