The years have not been kind for my favorite ‘80’s big hair bands in general, but this is the most tragic news I have heard yet. Bret Michaels, front man for Poison, has suffered bleeding at the base of his brain stem. At the young age of 47, he has suffered a stroke.It gets worse. The reality is that the survival rate of those who suffer a hemorrhage of this type is 50%. Those who do survive suffer some degree of neurological or cognitive impairment. Even under the best of circumstances, Michaels will never be whole again. There is also a 35-40% chance of continued bleeding within the first month of recovery. When that happens, the survial rate drops to 30%.
I think Michaels is a decent guy, doing Rock of Love notwithstanding. He has mellowed with age as far as rock stars go. He is a father to two small girls. In recent years, he has worked tirelessly for charities devoted to diabetes research. Michaels and one of his daughters are both diabetic. He has had a rough go of it lately with her recent diagnosis coming right before emergency surgery in San Antonio a few days ago.
Hopefully, thingswill work out fine. The good guys beat the odds every now and then.
