Bret Michaels: I'm "Lucky to Be Alive"

Bret Michaels says he's "lucky to be alive," in an interview with People following his brain hemorrhage.

Michaels, 47, recalls his first days in the hospital when he was in critical condition, saying: "I said in these exact words, 'Am I dying? If I'm dying, I want to see my kids, but if I have a chance, I don't want them to see me in this condition.'"

Bret Michaels released from hospital

His doctor has said Michaels — father to 9-year-old Raine and 5-year-old Jorja — has returned to walking on his own and to a level of normal consciousness.

The Poison singer and Celebrity Apprentice contestant's comments follow his release from St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

Bret Michaels responding "well" to treatment, plans tour dates

"He is making a good recovery. I really expect that he will make a 100 percent recovery," Dr. Joseph Zabramski told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. "He is one of those lucky people, the 20 percent who have a subarachnoid hemorrhage, who make a full and complete recovery."

Michaels is in physical therapy and hoping to resume touring again as soon as May 26.