Bret Michaels Won "Celebrity Apprentice"

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/bret-michaels-wins-apprentice-after...

May 24, 2010, 12:39 am
Bret Michaels Wins ‘Apprentice’ After Illness
By BRIAN STELTER
Bret Michaels Ali Goldstein/NBC
Bret Michaels on “Celebrity Apprentice.”

One month after suffering a brain hemorrhage and just days after being re-admitted to the hospital for a warning stroke, the rock musician Bret Michaels won the “Celebrity Apprentice” contest on NBC.

Donald Trump’s announcement — “you’re hired,” he said to Mr. Michaels
– came on the live season finale of the series, shown on NBC Sunday night.

Mr. Trump said on the broadcast that he had spoken to Mr. Michaels’
doctors, and “they didn’t want you to be here tonight. At all. Believe me, not at all.”

Mr. Trump asked, “Are you risking your life being here? This is a lot of pressure.”

“Lately it seems like me just standing up is risking my life,” Mr. Michaels said, garnering laughs from the audience. He had flown to New York from Los Angeles for the finale.

Mr. Michaels beat the other finalist on “Celebrity Apprentice,” Robinson Peete. For winning the reality show, $250,000 will be donated to the charity of Mr. Michaels’ choice, the American Diabetes Association. Mr. Trump said that one of the companies that was featured on the show, Snapple, had decided to donate $250,000 to Ms. Peete’s chosen charity, HollyRod.

“On the live part of Sunday’s finale, Michaels walked with a limp and appeared to have slight drooping on the left side of his face (which, earlier this week, his representative attributed to the hemorrhage as well as his medications),” TV
Guide reported. “But Michaels was back to his old self, as he bumped his fists against his chest to thank the crowd and walked over to personally thank every one of the fired contestants on stage.”

The business challenges on “Celebrity Apprentice” had all been taped before Mr. Michaels, a diabetic, had an emergency appendectomy in mid-April. A week later, the brain hemorrhage was discovered after he came down with a severe headache. He was in critical condition for several days, his doctors said at the time.

Mr. Michaels entered rehabilitation in early May, and he said he would re-start his concert tour at the end of the month. But he was readmitted to the hospital last week “after suffering numbness on the left side of his body,” according to his Web site, and doctors found a hole in his heart. The condition is treatable.

“No doubt these recent medical complications have been tough but he wants to continue to live his life, enjoy every day and get back on the road,” a
spokeswoman for Mr. Michaels wrote on his Web site last week. “He is taking all the medications and steps to insure that he can do that.
As his friends and staff we are all making sure that he is not taking any undo risks and we are certainly taking every precaution possible to insure his health and well being.”

The assurance that no undo risks were being taken would seem to contradict Mr. Trump’s statement about the doctors’ opposition to the New York trip.

Mr. Michaels is the lead vocalist for the band Poison. He is also well-known for hosting a slew of dating reality TV shows. He has a new album coming out next month.

His role as one of the final two contestants led to “speculation that the series closer will get a ratings rise,” Advertising
Age reported.

He will be back on television soon, first in a series of interviews to celebrate his “Celebrity Apprentice” victory. Next Sunday VH1 will preview a forthcoming reality show, “Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It,” that is supposed to debut in fall next fall. But the cable channel said last week that production on the show had been “temporarily halted,” with “Bret’s health as our primary concern.”

Bret Michaels -- Precautions for 'Apprentice' Finale

Originally posted May 23rd 2010 2:13 PM PDT by TMZ Staff

Getting fired isn't the only concern for Bret Michaels on tonight's "Celebrity Apprentice" finale -- and TMZ has learned medical precautions will be taken due to Bret's condition.

A source close to the show tells us there will definitely be a medical staff at the live taping tonight ... “ready in case anything happens.” Michaels suffered a brain hemorrhage on April 22 and was briefly hospitalized for heart problems last week.

We're told Bret is in NY and will be at rehearsals today for tonight's show.

Reps for Bret had no comment.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/23/bret-michaels-celebrity-apprentice-finale-medical-...

http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/23/bret-michaels-celebrity-apprentice-finale-medical-...

http://www.beatweek.com/news/6191-bret-michaels-american-badass/

Bret Michaels: American Badass

May 22, 2010

Go ahead, try to put yourself in Bret Michaels’ shoes. You nearly die of a brain hemorrhage, and as soon as you get out of the hospital you decide to go back to your job. Along the way you have a stroke and they find a hole in your heart. You check back out of the hospital and announce your intention to go back to work in a few days anyway. All this despite the fact that you’re a wealthy man who doesn’t need the work, and a famous rock star who doesn’t need to prove anything. And yet here is Bret Michaels, announcing his intention to fly across country in time to show up for this week’s Celebrity Apprentice finale, a show he’s still trying to win. Perhaps he should be on “Survivor” instead. There haven’t exactly been a lot of “hero” moments in the fairly brief and largely mean spirited history of reality television, but if Bret Michaels can pull of what he’s attempting, after what he’s just been through, it’ll represent the most singularly badass moment in the history of the genre.

Put another way: how many times have you failed to up show up to your job when you didn’t even have a hemorrhage, a stroke, or a hole in a major organ?

http://www.mtv.com/news/photos/m/michaels_bret_100426/070727_trumptaj.jpg

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20387520,00.html

Bret Michaels Taking 'Every Precaution Possible' After Health Scares

By Samantha McIntyre

Saturday May 22, 2010 03:00 PM EDT

Bret Michaels Taking 'Every Precaution Possible' After Health Scares | Bret Michaels

Bret Michaels

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

With the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice a mere day away, Bret Michaels looks forward to attending the live broadcast of the show on Sunday night to compete for the title – though his main concern continues to be his health.

As Michaels works to regain his strength after suffering several recent scares – including a "warning stroke" and a brain hemorrhage – the musician, 47, is careful not to take any "undue risks" with his recovery process.

"Bret is a very passionate person and refuses to live his life curled up in a ball wondering if or when something else might happen," the rocker's spokesperson Janna Elias said in a statement posted to Michaels' official Web site Friday.

"No doubt these recent medical complications have been tough but he wants to continue to live his life, enjoy every day and get back on the road."

Michaels, who plans to travel to New York City for the finale, is currently taking daily injections of blood thinners while his doctors continue to closely monitor his condition.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/05/22/2010-05-22_bret_michaels_...

Bret Michaels STILL plans on attending 'The Celebrity Apprentice' live finale despite recent stroke

BY Lindsay Goldwert
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Saturday, May 22nd 2010, 4:00 AM

You can't keep Bret Michaels down.

The beleagured rocker and reality star, who is reportedly back in the hospital after suffering a small stroke, still plans to attend the May 23 season finale of "The Celebrity Apprentice."

Michaels is set to face off against Holly Robinson Peete to win $250,000 for charity.

His publicist, Joann Mignano, said the rocker is receiving outpatient care and will be in in New York on Sunday for the season's final episode of the NBC show, the Associated Press reports.

Earlier this week, the 47-year-old star checked into the hospital after reportedly feeling numbness in his arm.

The test results revealed the stroke as well as a hole in his heart.

Michaels' dizzying array of health problems began with an emergency appendectomy on April 12. Less than two weeks later, he was in critical condition in a Phoenix hospital due to a massive brain hemorrhage.

Doctors said the hole in his heart can be treated and is likely unrelated to the hemorrhage.

"If I'm going out, I want to go out rockin,'" Michaels told Oprah Winfrey in an interview earlier this week.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/05/22/2010-05-22_bret_michaels_...

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http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20386975,00.html?hpt=T2

Update
Bret Michaels Hospitalized with 'Warning Stroke'

By Mike Fleeman

Update Thursday May 20, 2010 06:05 PM EDT Originally posted Thursday May 20, 2010 05:50 PM EDT
Bret Michaels Hospitalized with 'Warning Stroke' | Bret Michaels

Bret Michaels

Bret Michaels suffered a serious setback in his recovery from a brain hemorrhage, experiencing a small "warning stroke" that sent him to the hospital, where tests then revealed he also has a hole in his heart.

Both conditions are treatable and are not believed to be connected to his subarachnoid hemorrhage. But his doctor questioned whether Michaels can return as hoped to the May 23 finale of Celebrity Apprentice or to a concert on May 28.

"Without a doubt he is very determined to get healthy and make a 100 percent recovery. Medically speaking it is a fantastic attitude both mentally and physically for him to have," neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Zabramski says on Michaels's Web site. "However, Bret's brain and body are not quite 100 percent yet, especially with the hole found in his heart."

Michaels's rep, Jann Elias, says the 47-year-old rocker is "in good spirits, great medical hands and is positive and hopeful that everything is going to be okay."

As for his condition Elias says, "He is up, walking, talking, continuing his daily rehab and very happy to be alive but he has made it clear he is sick and tired of being in the hospital and is ready to rock again."

According to his doctor, Michaels was readmitted to the hospital this week after experiencing numbness on the left side of his body, particularly to his face and hands.

He was diagnosed with suffering a Transient Ischemic Attack, or TIA, described as a mini-stroke or warning stroke that causes stroke-like syptoms but doesn't cause lasting neurological damage. MRI and CT scans then discovered that Michaels had a hole in his heart.

"There is no doubt that [this] is devastating news to Bret and his family," says Zabramski. "The good news is that it is operable and treatable and we think we may have diagnosed the problem that caused the Transient Ischemic Attack."

Calling it "highly unlikely" these problems are linked to the brain hemorrhage, the doctor adds: "Once again it is great that he quickly reacted to the severe numbness and got to the hospital immediately."

UPDATES: 05/05/2010...

Bret Michaels Says Hemorrhage Felt Like Gunshot

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_en_mu/us_people_bret_michaels

AP

1 hr 1 min ago (5:02PM PT)

LOS ANGELES – Poison frontman Bret Michaels thought a burglar shot him in the back of the head when he suffered a brain hemorrhage last month that left him in intensive care for nearly two weeks.

The outspoken 47-year-old contestant on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice" told People magazine that the subarachnoid hemorrhage "sounded like a handgun, like it literally popped."

"It made my mind go almost blank," he said. "My neck tensed up. I couldn't move my head at all."

Michaels said after he experienced the sensation, he began pacing his living room then asked his girlfriend, Kristi Gibson, to take him to the emergency room.

"I knew I was slurring my words, and I was like 'OK, this isn't a headache. There's something really bad happening,'" he said.

Michaels recalled asking an emergency room doctor if he was going to die, and if he had a chance to survive, he didn't want his two daughters, 9-year-old Raine Elizabeth and 5-year-old Jorja Bleu, "to see me in this condition."

Michaels was recovering from his April 12 emergency appendectomy at the at his Scottsdale, Ariz., home he shares with Gibson and their two daughters when he felt the severe headache.

He was admitted into a hospital April 22 and was later diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which causes bleeding in the fluid-filled spaces around the base of the brain.

Dr. Joseph Zabramski said at a Tuesday news conference that Michaels was expected to make a full recovery.

Michaels will receive therapy and will probably continue to suffer from severe pain for another seven to 10 days as blood pooled under his brain dissolves, said Zabramski, chief of cerebrovascular surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

"I'm a believer it's a combination of will and good faith," Michaels said. "Will — and good medical attention — and faith. It just wasn't my time yet. I really believe that. If I had stayed on the couch for another hour, that probably would've done me in. In a weird way, God intervened: The appendicitis forced me to come home for a couple of days."

The magazine said Michaels moved to a physical therapy rehabilitation facility on April 30.

Michaels, one of the five stars remaining on the business-themed reality TV show "The Celebrity Apprentice," said he plans to make a "positive bucket list" and wants to "continue to rock the world, and I want to continue to love my family and be a good father."

http://www.bretmichaels.com/2010/site_images/cr4856.png
___

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1638403/20100504/bret_michaels.jhtml

May 4 2010 3:59 PM EDT

Bret Michaels Leaves Hospital, Expected To Make Full Recovery

Poison frontman is receiving physical therapy and being monitored after his massive brain hemorrhage.

By Eric Ditzian

Bret Michaels has been discharged from Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix almost two weeks after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage, his doctor announced in a televised press conference on Tuesday (May 4). The Poison frontman is currently resting in an undisclosed location, where he is receiving physical therapy and being monitored.

"He's walking. He's not walking very well. He's talking very well, and he's very mentally aware," Dr. Joseph M. Zabramski said, adding, "He'll fortunately make a 100 percent recovery."

Following a third angiogram that determined no aneurysm had taken place in his brain and that bleeding was no longer occurring, Michaels' condition was downgraded from critical to stable. Zabramski was not at liberty to say where Michaels had been transferred but did say that airplane flight was not prohibited for someone in his condition. The 47-year-old singer will receive a fourth angiogram in two weeks to monitor his progress.

While Michaels' recovery continues, Zabramski said he is "really suffering again right now." The reason for the suffering is that as the blood clot from his hemorrhage begins to "clear," the clot's various "blood products" create painful irritation inside the skull and along the spine. Steroids can usually be administered to mitigate the irritation, but Michaels' diabetes prevents the use of such drugs. A clot can take seven to 10 days to clear, Zabramski said.

Zabramski also said that Michaels' situation was an extremely lucky one. Fifteen to 20 percent of people who suffer subarachnoid hemorrhages die before they can even reach a hospital. An additional 20 percent arrive at a hospital with severe deficits that assure lifelong cognitive and physical issues. While Michaels arrived at the hospital with slurred speech and memory lapses, Zabramski said that by the next day, his speech had returned to normal. The singer might continue to have problems with back pain and new problems with headaches but is expected to make a full recovery and is not at a higher risk to suffer a hemorrhage again.

Asked when Michaels might resume his regular activities, Zabramski said he sees about four to six weeks of continued rest for the singer. But he went on to caution: "What I made him promise me is that he would not make any promises."

UPDATES - 05-04-10

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/05/doc-bret-mich...

May 04, 2010 - USA TODAY
Doc: Bret Michaels 'critical' but 'improving'

Bret Michaels "remains in critical condition," his doctor, Joseph Zabramski, said in a press conference in Arizona a short while ago. "We're watching him very closely. We are very concerned that there could be a deterioration in his status at this point. We continue to watch him closely."

Zabramski noted that Michaels was lucky to have gotten treatment quickly after his hemorrhage. His diabetes was "out of control" when he came into the hospital, another reason he and his team are "keeping a very close eye on him." Michaels' angiograms have come back "perfectly normal," said Zabramski. "Again, he's extremely lucky."

The prognosis? "At this point we're feeling pretty confident that he does not have an aneurysm or other problem that could result in recurrent hemorrhage. Right now he should be celebrating. But the blood from that blood clot is starting to dissolve," said Zabramski, which can be "very irritating" and "causes chemical meningitis that can be severely painful."

The rocker is battling back pain now. "Up to this point he's been feeling better and then all of this starts." The doctor said Michaels can't be treated with medications normally used, such as steroids, because he's diabetic. But, he said, "He is improving and I expect he will continue to gradually improve."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/05/doc-bret-mich...

Doc: Bret Michaels' will 'to live and fully recover is undeniable'

May 01, 2010 - 03:21PM

Just in: Bret Michaels' doctors at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. are planning to hold a press conference on Tuesday to update us all on the rocker's condition. (Until now, Michael's reps have not confirmed where he has been hospitalized.)

"There is no doubt that Mr. Michaels' condition is serious. We are treating the subarachnoid hemorrhage, which caused his severe cranial pain," says Joseph Zabramski, a top neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute since 1986 and leader of Michaels' team in the release. Zabramski says "Michaels will continue to undergo testing, considering we have hit a few roadblocks including hyponatremia, severe cranial and back pain suffered from blood drainage, an emergency appendectomy performed a week earlier and a lifelong history of Type 1 Diabetes."

However, "Bret's sheer will to live and fully recover is undeniable," says Zabramski. "He has an unbelievable fight in him and told me what kept him alive at the moment of the hemorrhage was that he 'did not want his family to wake up and see him lying unconscious in the middle of the floor.' It was a combination of Bret's fight to stay conscious during the hemorrhage and get to the emergency room, and the immediate medical attention provided by our staff at Barrow, that enabled us to stabilize his condition."

UPDATE: 04-29-10

Sister: Despite 'throbbing' brain, Bret Michaels sounds good

By Alan Duke, CNN
April 29, 2010 1:40 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Bret Michaels "sounds like Bret" nearly a week after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage, his sister told a radio show Wednesday.

"He sounded good -- as good as you can when your brain's throbbing," Michelle Sychak said in a interview with the "Todd N Tyler Radio Empire." "He seems very coherent to me and like he knew what he was saying."

Michaels' recovery is going well enough that his concert tour could resume in a month, according to a statement on his website.

The rock singer and reality TV star, hospitalized since last Friday, is in critical condition in an intensive care unit, his road manager said.

His sister's call to the Omaha, Nebraska-based radio show was one of the few times a family member has spoken publicly about Michaels' illness.

"He's doing good," she said. "He's not by any means out of the woods, but he is getting better every day."

Road manager Janna Elias, who has been posting daily updates for fans on Michaels' official website, wrote Wednesday evening that his band could resume its tour in a month.

Elias said the plan is for Michaels' tour to resume May 26 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, "provided there are no further complications or setbacks."

"Even though yesterday was a minor setback, doctors remain hopeful for a full recovery and plan to release more specific information next Monday," Elias said.

Tuesday's statement from Elias disclosed that Michaels suffered a side effect from the brain hemorrhage called "hyponatremia, a lack of sodium in the body which leads to seizures." Doctors still have not pinpointed the "exact cause of the rupture" in Michaels' brain, she said.

"He is responding well to tests and treatments," Elias said.

Doctors told Michaels "is very lucky as his condition could have been fatal," she said.

"With further testing and rehabilitation, they are hopeful that Bret will gradually improve as the blood surrounding the brain dissolves and is reabsorbed into his system, which can be a very painful recovery and take several weeks to months," she said.

Michaels, 47, was hospitalized Friday after suffering the hemorrhage. Citing security reasons, his manager and publicist have not disclosed the hospital or even the city where the singer is being treated.

Michaels was the lead singer for the '80s glam-metal "hair band" Poison. He became a reality star by headlining the VH1 show "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels." He has also appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/04/29/bret.michaels.condition/?hpt=Sbin

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UPDATE: 4/28/10

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20364829,00.html

Bret Michaels Is Conscious and Talking Slowly

By Eunice Oh

Wednesday April 28, 2010 03:30 PM EDT
Bret Michaels Is Conscious and Talking Slowly | Bret Michaels

Bret Michaels

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

In the past five days, Bret Michaels was rushed to a hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage, underwent tests while remaining in critical but stable condition and found out he had a side effect that could lead to seizures. But there's a good chance the rocker won't remember any of it, says one expert.

"Most people [who suffer this type of brain hemorrhage] don't remember most of their hospitalization – they have no recollection," Dr. Melvin Field, director of the Florida Hospital Neuroscience Institute, tells PEOPLE.

Still, Michaels is conscious, talking very slowly and in good spirits, his rep tells PEOPLE.

Doctors usually "give patients some sedation so they don't have pain, and that can kind of make it so they don't remember too much," says Field, adding that having blood in the brain can also cause some confusion.

Michaels will remain under the care of doctors, who discovered the Celebrity Apprentice contestant has a side-effect called hyponatremia, a lack of sodium in blood that can cause seizures. His rep says he has not had any seizures.

Field says the hyponatremia shouldn't be considered a setback. "It's relatively common [in these cases]," he says. "I don’t think it’s going to cause permanent problems. It’s almost like a small road-bump – like having a fever."

While Field says the rocker, 47, who suffered a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage on April 22, will most likely have "a pretty good headache" during his recovery and be in the hospital three to four weeks, he shouldn't have any other significant side effects. "If he came into the hospital awake and talking with a bad headache, there is a very good possibility he'll leave the hospital the way he came,” says Field. "He should be fine."

• Reporting by ANNE MARIE CRUZ and MICHELLE TAUBER

UPDATE: 04-26-10

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/26/bret.michaels.brain.hemorrhage/index.html?h...

Video: Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with Larry King (CNN) about Bret Michaels regarding the cause of his brain hemorrhage, as well as various outcomes.

Michaels' type of hemorrhage has wide range of outcomes

By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
April 26, 2010 5:55 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- The feeling of blood hitting the brain's sensitive covering can give a person the worst headache of his life, doctors say.

That's what happens in a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and that's what singer and reality star Bret Michaels, 47, might have felt before he was taken to the emergency room Thursday. A source close to the situation said Michael described it as "like [getting] hit in the head with a baseball bat over and over again," according to People magazine.

In a subarachnoid hemorrhage, an individual bleeds into the space between the brain and its transparent, web-like tissue covering. This is also the place where spinal fluid is located.

Doctors are still searching for the cause of Michaels' hemorrhage, his road manager posted on his website Monday.

"As of now, Bret remains in ICU under 24 hour surveillance," she wrote. "Further testing this week will help locate the source of the bleeding."

About 65,000 of these hemorrhages occur in the United States every year, said Dr. M. Sean Grady, chairman of neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Grady was not involved with treating Michaels.

Michaels' type of hemorrhage has a wide range of outcomes: Some patients die almost instantly, some will have difficulty speaking and other neurological dysfunction and some will walk away without long-term complications.

"Sometimes the patients will experience the onset of [the] absolute worst headache of their life, and can be wide awake and alert," said Dr. Daniel Barrow, chief of neurosurgery service at Emory University Hospital, who did not treat the singer. These are often called thunderclap headaches.

In about 10 to 15 percent of cases, the cause is never found. This scenario often has the most promising survival outcome, as these patients often make good recoveries and don't tend to have a recurrence, Barrow said.

The most common cause is physical injury, Barrow said. Car crashes can lead to a subarachnoid hemorrhage in young people, according to the National Institutes of Health. In the elderly, people who fall and hit their head may experience this kind of bleeding.

For spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhages, an aneurysm is the likely cause, experts say. An aneurysm is a bulging of a blood vessel in the brain. About half of patients with a ruptured aneurysm die from the burst itself, Grady said.

Patients with hemorrhages undergo a procedure called an angiogram, a test used to visualize blood vessels. Sometimes the initial angiogram does not pick up an aneurysm because when the bleeding stops, the clotting fills the aneurysm. That is one possibility for Michaels' case, Barrow said, but he could also fall into the category of unknown cause.

Blood thinners and blood disorders can cause this type of bleed, Barrow said, as can cocaine.

Michaels had undergone an emergency appendectomy on April 12, less than two weeks before suffering the hemorrhage Thursday. The events are likely unrelated, Grady and Barrow said.

The singer's type I diabetes also does not put him at any greater risk of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, Grady said.

The brain's covering is pain-sensitive, and blood coming into contact with it hurts, resulting in a severe headache, Barrow said.

Other symptoms may include sudden loss of consciousness or diminished consciousness, nausea and vomiting, seizure, stiff neck, vision problems and mood changes, according to the National Institutes of Health.

If there is one, it's important to identify the aneurysm and treat it because it will bleed again, Barrow said. One treatment is to surgically clip the aneurysm, excluding it from the normal circulation. An alternative is to put tiny coils of soft platinum metal in the aneurysm.

Someone in Michaels' position would most likely have his blood pressure and neurological function monitored carefully, Grady said. Doctors would watch the arterial blood flow into the brain to make sure the vessels are working as they should, he said.

http://PEOPLE.com

UPDATE: 04-26-10

Source: Bret Michaels was in excruciating pain

By Michelle Tauber and Anne Marie Cruz, PEOPLE.com
April 26, 2010 11:08 a.m. EDT

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/26/bret.michaels.injury.ppl/index.html?...

(PEOPLE.com) --

As Bret Michaels continues to be watched closely by his doctors, a source reveals the rocker's excruciating moments before he was taken to the emergency room.

According to the source, Michaels, 47, said the headache that prompted him to call for an ambulance felt "like [getting] hit in the head with a baseball bat over and over again."

Often referred to by doctors as a "thunderclap headache" because of the intensity and suddenness of the pain, such headaches are a tell-tale symptom of the kind of brain hemorrhage that Michaels suffered.

The source close to the situation adds, "Bret is still in ICU. He still has the headache and is heavily sedated."

A statement on his fan site noted that doctors are still searching for the source of the bleeding.

"In some patients, doctors never find the source," says Dr. Keith Siller of New York University's Comprehensive Stroke Care Center. The bleeding could be very small, or the rupture itself can "cure" the source of the problem, says Dr. Siller.

If no source of an aneurysm or an abnormal vein-artery connection known as an AVM is found, "you basically just wait for the symptoms to go away," says Dr. Siller. The patient typically remains under close observation, as Michaels is, so doctors can monitor for possible complications.

But if the patient is able to speak, "they're on the better end of things," says Dr. Siller, noting that physical therapy and speech therapy are often required to make a full recovery.

On TV's "Celebrity Apprentice," on which Michaels is a participant, Sunday night's episode carried a post-script.

Accompanying slow-motion footage of Bret carrying luggage across a tarmac, a voiceover said, "Everyone here at NBC wishes Bret Michaels a speedy recovery."

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APRIL 25, 2010

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/bret-michaels-speech-slurred-vision-blurred-....

Bret Michaels' Speech Slurred, Vision Blurred; Doctors Seek Brain Hemorrhage Source
Reality TV Star and Rocker Still in Critical Condition at Undisclosed Facility

By SHEILA MARIKAR and MICHAEL S. JAMES
April 25, 2010

Bret Michaels remains in critical condition at an undisclosed location, and doctors still haven't found the source of bleeding onto his brain that is affecting his speech and vision, according to the singer's website.

Reality TV Star and Rocker in Still in Critical Condition at Undisclosed Facility.

The 47-year-old reality TV star and frontman of the glam-metal band Poison has been hospitalized since late Thursday after suffering a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, or bleeding at the base of his brain stem, his publicist confirmed to ABCNews.com Friday.

"At this point Bret remains in ICU in critical condition," read a statement posted on bretmichaels.com Sunday. "He is under 24 hour doctors care and supervision. We are hopeful that further tests will locate the source of the bleeding, which has still not been located. As we all know Bret is a fighter and we are hopeful that once all is complete the slurred speech, blurred vision and dizziness, etc. will be eliminated and all functions will return to normal."

There were reports Saturday that Michaels had been downgraded from critical condition, but bretmichaels.com called those "incorrect reports."

APRIL 25, 2010

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1637745/20100425/bret_michaels.jhtml

Apr 25 2010 3:34 PM EDT

Bret Michaels Still In ICU, Doctors Seek 'Source Of Bleeding'

Facebook post says doctors are hopeful singer's 'slurred speech, blurred vision and dizziness' will be eliminated soon.

By MTV News staff

According to an update posted Sunday (April 25) on Bret Michaels' website and Facebook page, the singer/ reality-TV star remains in intensive care after suffering a brain hemorrhage late Thursday.

"Everyone at Michaels Entertainment would like to thank all fans and friends for their continued thoughts and prayers through this difficult time," the post reads. "At this point Bret remains in ICU in critical condition. He is under 24-hour doctors' care and supervision. We are hopeful that further tests will locate the source of the bleeding, which has still not been located. As we all know Bret is a fighter and we are hopeful that once all is complete the slurred speech, blurred vision and dizziness, etc. will be eliminated and all functions will return to normal.

"More information will be posted as it becomes available," the post concludes. Despite reports late Friday that Michaels' condition had "stabilized," his website was updated Saturday, noting that he remained in critical condition.

"There are several incorrect reports on Bret's condition," the post reads. "Bret remains in critical condition at an undisclosed location. Further tests are being ran and information will be updated in the coming days."

TMZ reported late Friday that Michaels was "awake, in good spirits and talking" citing Ambre Lake, the season-two winner of Michaels' "Rock of Love" reality show. The site reported that Lake has spoken with people close to Michaels who said he was "stabilized and conscious." Lake's status update on the 47-year-old singer was said to coincide with another unidentified "Rock of Love" contestant who is in touch with the other members of Poison.

Michaels was rushed to the hospital late Thursday evening, where doctors discovered he had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, or bleeding at the base of his brain stem, a rep for the singer confirmed to MTV News.

"After several CAT scans, MRIs and an angiogram, [doctors] decided to keep Michaels in the ICU and are running several tests to determine the cause [of the hemorrhage]," a source told People magazine, in a report that Michaels' rep said was accurate. "[It] will be touch and go for the next few days while he is under intense observation."

UPDATES AS OF 4/25/10

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/04/25/bret.michaels.hospitalized/index.html?hpt=...

Publicist: Bret Michaels still in critical condition

By the CNN Wire Staff
April 25, 2010 4:13 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Rock singer and reality TV personality Bret Michaels remained in critical condition Sunday in a hospital intensive care unit, his publicist said.

Michaels suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized Friday, spokeswoman Joann Mignano said at the time, confirming a People.com report.

"Everyone at Michaels Entertainment would like to thank all fans and friends for their continued thoughts and prayers through this difficult time," Mignano said in a statement Sunday. "At this point, Bret remains in ICU in critical condition. He is under 24-hour doctors' care and supervision.

"We are hopeful that further tests will locate the source of the bleeding, which still has not been located. As we all know, Bret is a fighter, and we are hopeful that once all is complete, the slurred speech, blurred vision and dizziness, etc., will be eliminated and all functions will return to normal."

More information will be provided as it becomes available, Mignano said. The location of Michaels' hospital was not disclosed.

Michaels, 47, was the lead singer for the '80s glam-metal "hair band" Poison.

He became a reality star by headlining the VH1 show "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels." He has also appeared on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."

http://www.bretmichaels.com/2010/site_images/nmlegs.png

UPDATES AS OF 04/24/10:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/bret-michaels-critical-brain-hemorrhage/stor...

Bret Michaels Remains Hospitalized After Brain Hemorrhage
Reality TV Star and Rocker in Critical Condition; Trump Sends Well Wishes to a 'Champion'

By SHEILA MARIKAR
April 24, 2010

Bret Michaels, the reality TV star and frontman of the glam-metal band Poison, remained hospitalized in critical condition Saturday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, according to his website.

Ex-Poison Frontman, Reality TV Star Reportedly in Critical Condition

"There are several incorrect reports on Bret's condition," read the Saturday posting on bretmichaels.com. "Bret remains in critical condition at an undisclosed location. Further tests are being ran and information will be updated in the coming days."

Michaels, 47, former star of VH1's "Rock of Love With Bret Michaels" and current "Celebrity Apprentice" contestant, initially was hospitalized at an undisclosed facility Thursday after suffering a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, or bleeding at the base of his brain stem, his publicist confirmed to ABCNews.com Friday.

Michaels was in critical condition and under "intense observation" by doctors while they run tests to determine the cause of his bleeding, People magazine reported.

The new medical woes come on the heels of an emergency appendectomy Michaels received after falling ill before a concert April 11.

Besides his active performing career, Michaels can be seen each week as a top contendor on Donald Trump's NBC reality show "The Celebrity Apprentice," competing against singer Cyndi Lauper and media maven Sharon Osbourne, to name a few of the remaining competitors.

Trump released a statement Friday, saying, "I am deeply saddened to hear about Bret Michaels and my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time. He's a great competitor and champion and I hope he will be fine."

Last weekend, Michaels revealed details of how he was rushed to a hospital on April 11 before a show in San Antonio, Texas.

"They told me that if I had gone onstage like I wanted to, [my appendix] likely would have ruptured and I could have died," he wrote on his blog.

"I'm feeling pretty bad ... to tell you the truth," Michaels wrote after the appendectomy. "When you're not planning on having a body part ripped out of you, it can be a shock to the system. While the doctors are amazing in San Antonio, there is just no way around the fact that getting your appendix out HURTS. I have a pretty good threshold for pain, but this one hurts."

The rocker added that because he's been a diabetic since age 6, his recovery could take longer than usual. However, it's unlikely that Michaels' diabetes spurred his current condition.

"This [type of hemorrhage] is usually from an anueursym," Dr. Wendy Wright, an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, told ABCNews.com. "The risk of an aneurysm rupturing is probably related to size -- the larger the aneurysm, the more likely to rupture -- and also may be more likely in people who smoke or on blood thinning medications."

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/nm_bret_michaels_100423_mn.jpg

Ontheredcarpet.com...

Bret Michaels in stable but serious condition after brain hemorrhage
Friday, April 23, 2010
Posted by Corinne Heller at 11:00:00 PM

Bret Michaels, singer of Poison, is stable and conscious after suffering a brain hemorrhage, according to media reports and his former Rock of Love winner girlfriend Ambre Lake, while his band member confirmed his condition was serious.

"Thank you for the outpouring of love and support for Bret!" Lake, who won the second season of the reality dating show Tweeted. "I will keep you guys updated. He's stabilized right now. Keep saying those prayers."

Michaels, the 47-year-old star of reality shows Rock of Love and Celebrity Apprentice was rushed to a hospital Thursday night after complaining of a terrible headache. Doctors found he had bleeding in his brain.

"I am confirming that Bret's condition is serious. Please respect his family and the band's privacy until we have more information," band member Rikki Rockett wrote on his Twitter page.

Michaels was in the midst of his "Roses and Thorns" tour at the time. He had recently undergone an emergency appendectomy in Texas and is a diabetic, although it is unclear if either helped cause his brain hemorrhage.

Michaels's rock band Poison was most famous in the 1980s with hits such as "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and "Nothing But a Good Time".

http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/2010/04/bret-michaels-in-stable-condition-consciou...

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1637737/20100423/bret_michaels.jhtml

Apr 23 2010 9:30 PM EDT
Bret Michaels 'Stabilized' After Brain Hemorrhage

Poison frontman was rushed to the hospital Thursday night and was said to be in critical condition.

By Larry Carroll (for MTV)

In the immediate hours following Bret Michaels' hospitalization for a brain hemorrhage, his fans have been poring over various websites looking for a hopeful update on the Poison frontman's health. Now, encouraging word has leaked that Michaels may be better off than initially feared.

TMZ is reporting that Michaels is "awake, in good spirits and talking" as of Friday evening (April 23). This information comes from Ambre Lake, the season-two winner of Michaels' "Rock of Love" reality show. TMZ reports that Lake has spoken with people close to Bret who say he's "stabilized and conscious."

Lake's status update on the 47-year-old hair-metal legend is said to coincide with another unidentified "Rock of Love" contestant who is in touch with the other members of Poison.

Michaels was rushed to the hospital late Thursday evening, where doctors discovered he had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage, a rep for the singer confirmed to MTV News.

"After several CAT scans, MRIs and an angiogram, [doctors] decided to keep Michaels in the ICU and are running several tests to determine the cause [of the hemorrhage]," the source told People. "[It] will be touch and go for the next few days while he is under intense observation."

The next 24 to 48 hours are considered critical for Michaels, and he will be closely monitored by the staff at the undisclosed hospital. Most recently, Michaels has been a contestant on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."

http://cbs2.com/entertainment/critical.condition.bret.2.1653256.html

Apr 23, 2010 3:45 pm US/Pacific

Bret Michaels Reportedly Has Brain Hemorrhage

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―

Poison frontman Bret Michaels has reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage and is in critical condition, according to Internet reports.

People.com says Michaels was rushed to an ICU Thursday night after saying he had "an excrutiating headache."

Michaels was already in the hospital for a burst appendix on April 12.

Doctors do not know if the burst appendix and hemorrage are related.

Michaels is currently starring on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."

Michaels has been concerned of late with his youngest daughter's health on the show. She has been tested for diabetes after Michaels said recently "she is showing all the signs."

Michaels is also a type 1 diabetic.

Michaels' career was re-ignited with VH-1's romance reality show "Rock of Love" and "Rock of Love 2."