The prognosis for reality TV and rock star Bret Michaels remains uncertain, but some doctors are optimistic about his chances for recovery.
Michaels, 47, was hospitalized last week after he suffered a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, or bleeding at the base of the brain stem. On Sunday, statements posted on the star's Web site said the frontman of the glam-metal band Poison was in critical condition in the intensive care unit at an undisclosed hospital, ABC News reported.
There were reports that Michaels was able to talk, but that his speech was slurred. The fact that he's conscious offers more hope for recovery than if he were comatose, according to experts.
"Based on how he is being described now, I would like to remain optimistic that he will survive this potentially devastating diagnosis," Dr. Wendy Wright, an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, told ABC News.
"The fact that he's made it to a hospital and is apparently in some sort of reasonable condition ... that's a good sign," said Dr. Arno Fried, chairman of neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J. "I would describe [Michaels' condition] as guarded. If the bleed has not caused too much damage, the possibility of recovery is quite good."
