Bret Michaels, Hardy by Nature

May 25, 2010— -- The eternal rock star Bret Michaels won't even let a few near-death experiences keep him down.

Despite a brain hemorrhage, mini-stroke, emergency appendectomy, and a hole in his heart, the diabetic rocker returned to NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" on Sunday -- winning $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association -- and will continue with plans to tour this summer with his band, Poison.

"Bret is a very passionate person and refuses to live his life curled up in a ball," said Michaels' spokesperson, Janna Elias, in a press release Friday. "He wants to continue to live his life, enjoy every day and get back on the road," Elias said, but he will not take any "undo risks" on his speedy road to recovery.

Though Michaels credited his quick recovery to good medical care and a guardian angel in an NBC "Today Show" interview on Monday, the rocker's hardy spirit has a lot to do with his resilience, doctors and psychologists say.

"Bret is very strong in hardiness," says Salvatore Maddi, a professor of psychology and social behavior at University of California, Irvine, who studies psychological hardiness.