Fans around the world — and here at Tonic — are praying for Bret Michaels, a longtime champion of diabetes research and awareness, who is fighting for his life after suffering a brain hemorrhage Thursday night.

bret_michaels.jpgBret Michaels, the former Poison front man, the star of VH!’s Rock of Love and a top contender on the current season of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice 3, remains in critical condition after being rushed to an undisclosed hospital Thursday night due to a massive brain hemorrhage.

Michaels, 47, who had suffered excruciating headaches in the days before the hemorrhage, is under “intense observation,” as doctors run tests to determine the cause of the subarachnoid hemorrhage or bleeding at the base of his brain stem, PEOPLE.com reports. “It will be touch and go for the next few days while he is under intense observation,” a source told PEOPLE on Thursday.

Doctors are trying to determine if the hemorrhage was possibly the result of a recently performed emergency appendectomy, or complications from Michaels’ Type 1 Diabetes, which has plagued him since he was a child.

While some reports said that Michaels’ condition had improved in the days following the hemorrhage, his rep told PEOPLE.com Saturday, “There are several incorrect reports on Bret’s condition. Bret remains in critical condition at an undisclosed location. Further tests are being run and information will be updated in the coming days.”

The hemorrhage came ten days after he was rushed to a hospital for an emergency appendectomy on April 12 in San Antonio, Texas, just before he was supposed to perform at Sea World for his “Custom Built” solo tour. “After the fact, they told me that if I had gone onstage like I wanted to, it likely would have ruptured and I could have died,” he wrote on Fancast.com after the surgery.

He blogged on Fancast.com that the surgery took a lot out of him. “As I write this, I’m feeling pretty bad … to tell you the truth,” he wrote. “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.

“I don’t know how much longer I will be under medical supervision. I’ve spoken to several doctors and they all seem to be impressed with the condition I have been able to keep myself in as a juvenile diabetic. But a lot of extra care needs to be taken to make sure my body heals correctly. It’s no secret I love my kids, my life, and being on the road, so I want to make sure I do everything I can now to make sure I can continue that later. They say it can take four to six weeks to recover, but maybe longer for a diabetic.”

He wasn’t feeling much better the day before the hemorrhage. “I’m feeling right about in the middle right now on a scale of 1 to 10,” Michaels wrote on Fancast.com. “I’m not 100% yet … I have to get my blood sugar back in order, because it’s been all over the place because every day I’ve been real active and you’re not supposed to move around yet.”

bret_michaels_2.jpgA Fierce Champion of Diabetes Research and Awareness

As someone who has battled diabetes most of his life, Michaels has used his fame to raise money for diabetes research and to raise awareness about the disease. On the first episode of Apprentice, he raised $100,000 for the charity of his choice, The American Diabetes Association — more than any other celebrity on the show so far — when he led the men’s team to victory as its project manager. “What an amazing win,” he told The American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Forecast afterward. “I was glad I wasn’t first to be fired. Most importantly, the whole purpose was to raise money for diabetes — not only awareness but for the charity. I think one of the biggest parts of diabetes — while we’re looking for a cure — is to help people who have already got it.”

Michaels has hosted and attended dozens of diabetes fundraisers during his career. Most recently, in October 2009, Michaels walked to find a cure as the honorary spokesman for the American Diabetes Association’s StepOut event at the South Street Seaport in New York City.

At the time, Michaels asked fans on Facebook to join him “in supporting this cause that is near and dear to all of our hearts here at Michaels Entertainment. As you may or may not know Bret has been diabetic since the age of six. This disease affects not only his life but so many others on a daily basis. Currently there is no cure.”

He told writer Bobbi Dempsey that he also likes to helps people with diabetes on a personal level. He told Dempsey that he likes to treats fans with diabetes to special backstage events and one-on-one meetings in which he talks to them about how he copes with life as a diabetic.

A Rock Star Father’s Love…and Concern

Finding a cure for diabetes and raising as much money as possible for research took on more importance than ever for Michaels when he learned on the April 11 episode of Apprentice (which was taped months earlier) that his 9-year-old daughter, Raine, had been diagnosed as borderline diabetic.

The news brought him to tears. “I literally found out while I was [filming it],” he told Diabetes Forecast. “It left me at a big fork in the road: As a responsible father, you leave [the show] then and there, but at same time I knew this was the whole purpose. The irony is I’m fighting to show people you can live a great, normal life with diabetes.”

Michaels, who is scheduled to receive an honorary “Father of the Year” award at the American Diabetes Association Gala in Los Angeles, (he is also dad to four-year-old Jorja Bleu) set the record straight about his daughter’s condition on Fancast after the episode aired.”People have been asking about my daughter Raine, and here’s the deal,” he wrote. “She has been diagnosed as borderline diabetic, which is symptomatic to leading to diabetes. She tested a few times positive for sugar or glucose in her urine and then they went in and did actual tests, other than just peeing on a stick. It happened to her when she was 3 and 4 and I thought it had gone away, but it happened again now at age 9. Her weight was changing; she lost a bunch of weight. I knew when I was going in to do ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ that something was up, and when I got the call, I just wasn’t mentally prepared to hear it. I thought they would just tell me that she’s a kid and her body is changing and it’s okay.

“She doesn’t need any shots yet. It’s just diet and pills for her now. This is how ironic that I’m on a show fighting to show people that if you are dealt the diabetes cards, you can deal with it. But when it’s your own child, it’s a completely different reaction. She was scared when she asked if she had to take a bunch of shots like me. That’s what got me. I told her, ‘Look. If you are, look at your dad. I’ve rocked it 41 years with diabetes. You’ll be okay.’ We got real positive about it. She’s on a strict diet and she’s an active kid anyway, but now she’s really watching her health. Hopefully she’ll never have a Type 1 diabetes. It makes me fight even harder on this show to help find a cure for this.”

Bret’s busy week is topped off by the singer’s birthday on March 15th! Fans can give Bret the gift of music by calling their local radio stations and requesting the new single, “Nothing to Lose.” To buy a copy visit either iTunes or www.BretMichaels.com where the 5 track CD is available featuring all versions of the single.

Fans of Bret can catch him on tour starting March 12th and on the new season of Celebrity Apprentice starting March 14th. “Nothing To Lose” is also available on iTunes and at www.BretMichaels.com on CD which includes all five recorded versions of the song; solo, solo acoustic, featuring Miley Cyrus, acoustic featuring Miley Cyrus and a country version also featuring the Disney starlet. “Nothing To Lose” will also be on Michaels’ forthcoming full-length Custom Built.

TOUR DATES
Mar 12 The Venue @ The Hub Fargo, North Dakota
Mar 13 Surf Ballroom Clear Lake, Iowa
Mar 15 Diamond Jo Casino Dubuque, Iowa
Mar 17 Joe’s Bar Chicago, Illinois
Mar 18 LCO Casino Hayward, Wisconsin
Mar 19 Seven Clans Casino Red Lake, Minnesota
Mar 20 Seven Flags Event Center Clive, Iowa
Mar 23 The Machine Shop Flint, Michigan
Mar 25 Ameristar Casino St. Charles, Missouri
Mar 26 Ameristar Casino Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 27 Primm Valley Resort / Star of the Desert Arena Primm, Nevada
Mar 29 Oneida Casino Green Bay, Wisconsin
Mar 30 Potawatomi Bingo Casino Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mar 31 Potawatomi Bingo Casino Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Apr 1 Mountain Arts Center Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Apr 2 Wildhorse Saloon Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 3 Peoria Civic Center (Rivermen Post Game Concert) Peoria, Illinois
Apr 9 Heritage Hall Ardmore, Oklahoma
Apr 9 Two Frogs Grill (Official After Party) Ardmore, Oklahoma
Apr 10 Billy Bob’s Fort Worth, Texas
Apr 11 Sea World – Nautilus Arena San Antonio, Texas
Apr 17 State Farm Arena Hidalgo, Texas
Apr 24 Belterra Resort & Casino Florence, Indiana
May 2 Beale Street Music Festival Memphis, Tennessee
May 5 Grizzly Rose Denver, Colorado
May 6 Cowboy’s Colorado Springs, Colorado
May 8 Route 66 Casino Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 12 Turning Stone Resort & Casino Showroom Verona, New York
May 13 Theatre at Westbury Westbury, New York
May 14 Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom Hampton, New Hampshire
May 28 Hard Rock Casino Biloxi, Mississippi
Jun 5 Prairie Knights Casino & Resort Ford Yates, North Dakota
Jul 23 Dakota Rock Fest Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Aug 6 Clearfield County Fair Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Sep 3 Rib America Festival Indianapolis, Indiana

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Check out the Full Transcript of Bret Michaels & Donald Trump Interview at our sister site Inside Pulse Music.

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Bret Michaels is, if nothing else, a true survivor. He has survived a life-long battle as an insulin dependent diabetic, a well publicized near fatal car crash and the countless musical trends and fads of the last two decades.

The 46-year-old award winning, multi platinum superstar singer, songwriter, producer, director and actor has been in the business for over 20 years and continues to move at warp speed.

Michaels’ Rock of Love television series is one of the most successful in VH1′s history. With three record-breaking seasons under his belt, Michaels is currently embarking on several other television projects, including the upcoming Bret Michaels Show.

As front man for the legendary rock band Poison, Michaels has sold 25 million records and scored an amazing 15 chartbusting Top 40 singles including “Talk Dirty to Me,” “Something to Believe In,” “Nothing But a Good Time” and the timeless #1 smash “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” which he is currently in the studio re-recording with Miley Cyrus and producer John Shanks for her upcoming album. In the new millennium, Poison’s music has been featured in such big screen flicks as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Grandma’s Boy and Deuce Bigelow-European Gigolo. They continue to be one of the industry’s top grossing concert attractions and their 20 Years of Rock CD was a bona fide Top 20 smash.

Michaels has also produced and written material for other artists, including Stevie Nicks. He wrote and produced the song “Love’s a Hard Game to Play” which appeared on Nicks’ platinum album Timespace: The Best Of Stevie Nicks. More recently, Michaels could be heard providing background vocals along with Phil Vassar on the Kenny Chesney/Uncle Kracker duet single “Last Night Again.”

Always creating, Michaels formed a film production company with actor Charlie Sheen. The partnership ultimately led to Michaels’ writing, directing and starring in several films including A Letter From Death Row which he executive co-produced with Sheen.

As an actor, Michaels has made regular appearances on such hit television shows as Yes Dear, Martial Law, The Chris Isaak Show and Don’t Forget the Lyrics. He has also co-hosted Access Hollywood and been a judge on the wildly popular Nashville Star program.

Setting his musical sights beyond Poison, Michaels released his debut solo album Songs of Life in 2003 followed by the rootsy, Americana flavored sophomore record Freedom of Sound in 2005 and Rock My World featuring the smash hit “Go That Far” in 2008.

Michaels will release his autobiography, Roses and Thorns: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy to My Reality in 2010 and tours constantly with his solo band.

“I would play music whether I made it in the industry or not,” Michaels told a journalist and it’s that commitment to his art that continues to keep him at the forefront of the entertainment industry. For more information on Bret Michaels visit http://www.bretmichaels.com

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Michaels, star of the reality show “Rock of Love,” took to the stage with his hair-metal band Poison during the telecast’s opening production number, featuring performances from the season’s Broadway musicals.

They performed “Nothin’ But a Good Time” with the cast of “Rock of Ages,” and as Michaels exited the stage, a descending set piece smacked him on the head and knocked him to the ground.

Tonys spokeswoman Christina Stejskal says the rocker “missed his mark.” Though it looked it, he did not break his nose. Stejskal did not immediately know the extent of his injury.

“Rock of Ages” celebrates 1980s hair music and features songs by Journey and other bands. It stars Constantine Maroulis as an aspiring rock star.

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