PHOENIX, Ariz. — The doctor treating Bret Michaels is speaking out for the first time since the rocker suffered a massive brain hemorrhage last week.
"Bret's sheer will to live and fully recover is undeniable," said Dr. Joseph Zabramski, a top neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., where Michaels is being treated. "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."
Zabramski said Michaels, 47, will continue to undergo testing after suffering a few setbacks, including a side-effect called hyponatremia, a lack of sodium in blood that can cause seizures. He is also suffering from severe cranial and back pain resulting from blood drainage.
"There is no doubt that [his] condition is serious," Zabramski said.
Barrow neurologists and neurosurgeons have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday at noon to give an update on the rocker's condition, treatment and prognosis.
Michaels has spent the majority of the month in the hospital. Prior to suffering the brain hemorrhage, he underwent an emergency appendectomy in San Antonio after he fell ill just before he was about to take the stage for a concert at SeaWorld.
- Comment
