Bret Michaels Says He’s “Got A Lot To Live For” Following Near-Fatal Live Struggles

Bret Michaels is 60 and still alive “with a full heart.” Following his recent health scare, the rocker is grateful for everyday that his body keeps functioning.

Bret Michaels – On His Acceptance Of Death Whenever It Comes

In an interview about his very exciting life with PEOPLE, the Poison rocker touched on his highs and lows, especially the way he’s come to overcome the fear of death and instead make the most of the days he’s still got.

If you asked Michaels to describe his 60-year-old body, he would liken it to a classic muscle car. “I’m still fast, and I’m still fun to drive,” he told PEOPLE in an issue to be published this Friday. “I just need a lot more maintenance.”

After finding stardom with Poison in the late ’80s with singles such as “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “Nothin’ but a Good Time,” some drama within the band’s members and health issues threatened to impede on their success. In particular, Michaels suffered from type 1 diabetes, a near-fatal brain hemorrhage and a stroke in 2010.

But he did not let Poison’s dying fame stop him, as he jumped into reality TV (VH1’s Rock of Love and NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice 3) and was soon making music on his own.

PEOPLE was able to catch up with the star before he kicked off his July Parti-Gras tour to ask him how he felt rising above his health challenges, including an undisclosed medical scare last June.

“It’s been a crazy roller-coaster ride,” Michaels, who just turned 60 in March, explained. “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.” Michaels is dad to two daughters with his on-and-off partner of 30 years, model Kristi Gibson.

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Bret Michaels – Childhood Health Strugfles Led Him To Discover His Love Of Music

At age 6, Michaels was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. At the time, he was living with his dad Wally, an Armco Steel worker, and mom Marjorie, an administrator at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, outside of Pittsburgh.

Recalling his childhood, he continued, “I was almost at ketoacidosis, which is when the organs shut down. It was the first time I’d ever seen my father cry.”

From then on, he was in and out of the hospital as a child, and had to have insulin shots four to five times per day.“It was scary,” said Michaels, who turned to playing Guitar and harmonica at the time to help him cope. “But my parents told me, ‘You’ve got to choose not to be a victim.'”

At age 20, he would go on to form the rock band Poison with drummer Rikki Rockett, bass player Bobby Dall and guitarist Matt Smith.

You can read more about this when the latest issue of PEOPLE hits the news stands.

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with Bret Michaels right now. Come back here often for all Bret Michaels spoilers, news, and updates.

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