Bret Michaels' sister says he's walking again, not faking the illness

WENN, Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 8:06am (PDT)

Poison star Bret Michaels is recovering well after he was hospitalized due to a brain hemorrhage in April. He has started walking again for the first time since his collapse, according to his sister Michelle.

The singer remains in an Arizona hospital after suffering internal bleeding in his brain last week, while doctors in the intensive care unit continue to perform tests and work towards easing his symptoms, which have included dizziness, pain and blurred vision.

RELATED: Will Bret be ready to rock again soon?

Michaels' publicists recently fueled hopes of a speedy recovery by announcing the star's canceled shows would be rescheduled for the end of May, but his sister admits there is "no way" he will be able to get back on stage so quickly, and doctors have confirmed that he remains in serious condition.

Michaels' sister appeared on radio talk show, "Todd-N-Tyler," where she gave an update on her brother's condition.

"He is definitely doing better," she said. "He was getting up and starting to walk a little bit. What's happened is all that blood in his brain is starting to drain a little bit and he's suffering a lot of back pain. I know he's in a lot of pain ... [but he's like], 'I just want to get out of here!'"

RELATED VIDEO: Bret Michaels' recovery & more celeb news

She also slammed the online media for spreading rumors that he has been faking his illness to help publicize his tour, adding that she doesn't want him to read reports like that while he tries to recover.

"There are a couple of stories about how this whole thing is fake. I think when they put out that thing about him possibly going back on tour, it stirred up that this was all some sort of stunt. I think the [story] was misunderstood. [The date mentioned was] the soonest he could ever [go back on tour.] It came off wrong. There's no way [he could perform right now,]" she said on the radio show.

RELATED: Get more music news on MSN

"I thought it was a shame that suddenly everybody that doesn't have anything to do is saying the whole thing is a PR stunt," she continued. "I don't want him to see something like that. You want to find the people who do that and just say, 'What's wrong with you?'"