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Bret Michaels Asked God to “Cut Me a Break” as He Fought to Live

Bret Michaels is back on the air.

Recovering from last month's dramatic brain hemorrhage, the rocker and reality star makes his very first appearance on Wednesday's Oprah Winfrey Show.

Related: PHOTOS: Bret's rockin' days!

He describes to Oprah Winfrey the April 21 onset of the hemorrhage (sudden bleeding around the brain) as a "migraine times 10" which "sounded like a small handgun went off in the back of my head."

After Michaels, 47, was rushed into the emergency room, doctors gave a grave warning to his girlfriend, Kristi. "[They] said, 'It's not good news.' And he said, 'I heard you two talking about having daughters. You might want to say goodbye to them.'"

Related: PHOTOS: Biggest moments in reality TV

As doctors urgently performed tests on him, Michaels "got very sad," he tells Winfrey. "I went into completely just asking God, 'You've got to let me live through this,…I was doing a lot of asking at that point. [I thought]: 'I know I've done a lot of rotten things. I'm asking for a break here, and if you could cut me a break just this time, I promise I'll be better in the future.'"

What caused a blood vessel to burst in Michaels brain? His medical team at at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., still doesn't know. About 400,000 people suffer spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage, his neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Zabramski says — and Michaels is among the "lucky 20%" who make a full recovery."

Related: PHOTOS: Bret's surprising accident at the 2009 Tony Awards

"I'm just appreciative to be here and have such great family around me, great friends and a great medical team," Michaels adds. "[I] thank the good Lord or guardian angel–whoever is watching over me–that it didn't take me out."

He also explains why he left on his trademark bandana throughout the ordeal. "If I'm going out, I wanna go out rockin!" he says. Michaels is scheduled to resume his concert tour later this month, and may appear on this Sunday's live finale of Celebrity Apprentice.

See the Poison singer's triumphant comeback in the video (above)!

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