Rocker Bret Michaels, one of the most famous Type 1 diabetics, advanced to the finals of the Celebrity Apprentice in a prerecorded episode that aired last night. In the final challenge, Michaels and Holly Robinson Peete have to create a new Snapple flavor and market the product. Michaels is creating a “diet” drink because it doesn’t contain sugar.
The winner will take home a $250,000 prize, plus a slice of sales of the drink, for their charity. Michaels, who has already won $140,000 so far this season, is competing for the American Diabetes Association and its summer camps for kids with diabetes. Peete is competing for her charity, the HollyRod Foundation, which supports families of the seriously ill. Peete’s son has autism.
To make it to the finals, Michaels outlasted Sharon Osbourne, celebrity chef Curtis Stone and wrestler Maria Kanellis, who were all fired during the two-hour episode Sunday.
Michaels is hoping to return to New York for the live season finale of the Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday May 23, 2010 after suffering a life-threatening brain hemorrhage last month. Michaels has already announced that he plans his musical comeback on May 28, 2010 at a concert in Biloxi, Mississippi and is slated to appear in an Oprah Winfrey Show episode scheduled to air on Wednesday May 19, 2010.
Michaels’ diabetes reportedly did not play a role in his brain hemorrhage (see Bret Michaels: Did Diabetes Play a Role in Brain Hemorrhage? ). Michaels is considered very lucky. Only one in five typically make a full recovery from such a hemorrhage. Doctors say he is at an elevated risk of suffering a relapse until six months after the hemorrhage.
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I SO wish he would not tour for another 5 months. Just until after the timeframe of greatest risk ends. What really drew me to him is his incredible passion for everything he does. I just hope that doesn’t end up being what jeopardizes his life. Before I knew who Bret Michaels was my A1C was 10.6. I saw him on Celebrity Apprentice and was drawn to his energy, the pedal-to-the-metal way he lives … and yet such kindness. I didn’t know a diabetic could live so fully. My examples before Bret were that of fear of going anywhere, fear of trying anything new. Boy, did he squash that! Now my A1C is around 7: I work-out every day, total change of how and what I eat – not a diet, I’m signed up for courses in study I’ve wanted to do for years but never had the drive. All this in large part because the depression is all but gone. And that is because I’m not a slave to diabetes anymore. But nor am I its master. It’s a relationship: I do the things I need to do for it, and it typically behaves. So thank you Bret – for being so open and sharing so much of yourself; for setting the bar on how we diabetics can LIVE. Just please don’t try to set that bar too high for yourself. You’re always in my prayers…
[...] is one of two contestants that survived every week of the grueling competition (see Bret Michaels Advances to Celebrity Apprentice Finals). In the final event, Michaels is competing against Holly Robinson-Peete for $250,000 in prize [...]