By Mike Hess Posted Apr 23rd 2010 05:06PM
Bret Michaels seemed to be on the mend following a recent hospitalization for an emergency appendectomy, but it seems his situation is far more serious. PEOPLE is reporting that the Poison frontman and 'Celebrity Apprentice' contestant is in critical condition after suffering a "massive subarachnoid hemorrhage" at the base of his brain. Update: Bret's publicist tells PopEater that the PEOPLE report "is accurate," and his camp "will have no additional information until further testing is done."
According to the report, the 47-year-old rocker had "several CAT scans, MRIs and an angiogram" done after he was rushed to the hospital following an excruciating headache. "[It] will be touch and go for the next few days while he is under intense observation," according to the PEOPLE source.
Bret has been a lifelong sufferer of juvenile diabetes. During an interview last month with PopEater, Bret discussed how his disease led him to raise money and awareness for a diabetes related charity on 'Apprentice.'
Earlier this month, Michaels was rushed to the hospital and underwent an emergency appendectomy. He was released several days later.
Following the scare, he wrote on his Web site, "They told me that if I had gone on stage like I wanted to, [my appendix] likely would have ruptured and I could have died," and joked that "getting your appendix out HURTS."
In a follow-up post, Michaels calls the incident a "wake-up call" and discussed how his rock-and-roll lifestyle often clashed with his diabetes, saying that "for a diabetic, it just doesn't work in your diet. It's got so much sugar content. Here's the misconception, as a diabetic, you can have a few drinks. That is the truth ... But, here's the downside, sometimes because of that feeling of maybe being slightly intoxicated, you don't know if you're having low blood sugar or if you're just drunk."
He continues, describing the experience as such: "Am I just feeling tipsy or am I having low sugar? And, it's a double whammy because here's what happens with alcohol: when you're hung-over then you don't eat right, you don't take your insulin right. So it's best to stay away."
Michaels is best known for fronting the hair-metal band Poison, who were one of the biggest bands in the world in the '80s and early '90s. With hits like 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' and 'Something to Believe In,' they gained worldwide fame and topped the charts.
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