Bret Michaels on his deadly health scares: ‘Crazy roller-coaster ride’

health issues, including a 2010 brain hemorrhage and stroke — and why he’s grateful to be alive.“It’s been a crazy roller-coaster ride,” Michaels told People.“After all the adversity I’ve been through, I just feel grateful to be here.

If I were to go today — and I hope I don’t — I would die with a full heart.”In addition to his recent health struggles, Michaels has also battled Type 1 diabetes since he was 6. “I was almost at ketoacidosis, which is when the organs shut down,” he told the outlet of his diagnosis many years ago. “It was the first time I’d ever seen my father cry.”He recalled being in and out of the hospital a lot when he was little, and even had to take insulin four to five times per day — but it was something that made him stronger in the end. “It was scary,” Michaels told the outlet. “But my parents told me, ‘You’ve got to choose not to be a victim.’ “In 1987, he shared with the world that he was a diabetic after he passed out onstage due to insulin shock while performing at Madison Square Garden, according to the Villages-News.

The rocker recalled that some thought he must have been a heroin addict — but that wasn’t the case.Michaels’ battles with his health didn’t end there.

According to People, in 1994, he crashed his car into a telephone pole while racing some friends, resulting in a broken nose and ribs.