The comedienne's health situation makes it impossible for her to take the stage again

Sep 3, 2014 14:37 GMT  ·  By
Joan Rivers' serious condition could spell years of recovery for the actress and the end of her career
   Joan Rivers' serious condition could spell years of recovery for the actress and the end of her career

Today it has been confirmed by daughter Melissa that actress and comedienne Joan Rivers is still on life support, despite earlier reports that doctors were preparing to take her out of her medically induced coma. This means that Rivers is still not recovered and that she still has a long way to pull through.

Insiders with the family have spoken with NY Daily News and have told the publication that Joan's condition is more serious than originally thought and that the recovery process is expected to take years. As Joan is already 81 years old, a respectable age by any standard, that long an absence from the stage is likely permanent in her case.

Rivers went into cardiac and respiratory arrest last week, when undergoing throat surgery at a private clinic in Manhattan. The actress was rushed to Mount Sinai hospital, where doctors put her in a coma and hooked her up to life support machines. She has remained in this state since Thursday, and there is no word that she is improving.

Her daughter's 3-sentence statements have confirmed the lack of change in her state of health but have offered little other information. She has just taken the time to thank all those who have expressed their support and has added, “I know my mother would be overwhelmed by the continued outpouring of kindness and I want to thank everyone for keeping us in their prayers.”

Joan's career has already been halted by her state of health, as this week's taping of “Fashion Police” was postponed because the star was in the hospital. At the moment, Joan's family hopes that the actress will be able to pull through and sideline her acting career as a second priority.

Reports from other people in the hospital claim that Joan's daughter Melissa is going out of her way to be nice to everyone, despite the incredible burden she has to overcome. “She is calmer than I’ve ever seen her: All these reports about doomsday are not true. She is her mother’s daughter and she’s tough as nails,” one insider notes.

Doctors have yet to speak about Joan's state of health, but it's generally considered that she hasn't shown any signs of improvement, otherwise she would have been taken off life support and eventually brought out of her medically induced coma.

Spending prolonged periods of time in such a vegetative state can have devastating effects on the brain and the body in general, which is why it was hoped that Joan would have been better by now in order to get her off the machines.