Bret Michaels turned 60 on Wednesday, and considering his health struggles over the years, he’s embracing the milestone.
“I am grateful to be on this crazy roller coaster ride and to be here with some of my good decisions and some of my less-than-reputable decisions,” the Poison frontman told USA Today when asked if he’s bummed about turning 60. “But I’ve got to be honest. When people ask I say, No. 1, what is my alternative? The alternative is not good. And two, I get no choice in the matter. My choice will be how I deal with it.”
He adds, “No one says, ‘Man, I want to be old.’ I feel blessed that I got to get old because I know so many of my friends never got the chance. I live also for them.”
And Michaels hasn’t had it easy over the years. He’s lived with Type 1 diabetes since he was a child, suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2010, and also underwent heart and kidney surgery. But he says he’s learned to “adapt and change with what my body can do.”
“There is no magic pill,” he adds. “I am like a true muscle car – still fast, still fun to ride, but I just need a little more maintenance.”
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