Bret Michaels Out of Hospital After Hemorrhage
May 4, 2010— -- Rocker and reality TV show star Bret Michaels left the hospital today, less than three weeks after a brain hemorrhage threatened his life, his doctor said at a press conference.
Dr. Joseph Zabramski led the team that treated Michaels at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix for a subarachnoid hemorrhage -- in Michaels' case, a bleed at the base of his brain stem. Zabramski said Michaels would continue to receive care outside the hospital, as he is not yet fully recovered.
"He can walk, but he's not walking very well," he said.
However, he fact that Michaels was able to weather the hemorrhage as well as he did impressed his doctors. The condition, which occurs suddenly, kills 15 percent of its victims before they reach the hospital. Another 20 to 40 percent of sufferers do not survive the resulting complications of the hemorrhage.
Michaels also suffered a complication called hyponatremia as a result of the hemorrhage, and he had undergone an emergency appendectomy just a week before the hemorrhage struck. What's more, he has Type 1 diabetes -- a condition that some neurologists said would make his treatment more complicated.
"Bret's sheer will to live and fully recover is undeniable," an e-mail statement released on April 30 by Michaels' publicist quoted Zabramski as saying. "He has an unbelievable fight in him.
"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," Zabramski said.
Zabramski said during the press conference that he recommended Michaels wait at least four to six weeks before resuming normal activity.
The location of the 47-year-old former Poison frontman's treatment had been a secret but was identified last week by Michael's publicist and posted on bretmichaels.com.
