14 DAY TRIAL // While most of us are feverishly watching the news and hoping for a full recovery of the actress and comedienne Joan Rivers, the NY Health Department is said to be looking into her case, that saw her simple throat surgery transition to a cardiac arrest and result in her being hooked up to life support at Mount Sinai Hospital since Thursday.
TMZ has it on good authority that the Department of Health has already contacted the private clinic, the Yorkville Endoscopy, in regard to the incident that took place on Thursday last week. There have been two separate contacts, and both of them are related to Rivers' simple procedure to repair her vocal chords.
However, even if the Health Department is poking around the case, it's been described as “reviewing the matter” and not an official investigation. Such a review could take several weeks or months, but there is no telling what its outcome may be.
And just to clear things up, the Health Department is looking at the clinic as a whole at the moment, not just the doctor who performed the procedure on Rivers.
Meanwhile, Joan Rivers has shown no signs of improvement in her condition, despite reports earlier in the week. Today, it's been revealed that she was moved out of the Intensive Care unit and into a private room at the Mount Sinai hospital. It's unclear whether she's still on life support at the moment.
Other reports from earlier in the week suggested that Rivers' family, particularly her daughter Melissa, who has been by her bedside ever since she was brought to the hospital, sought to sue the clinic which conducted the operation. Later, the family's spokesperson said these rumors were not true and that the family had no intention of filing legal action against the clinic.
Melissa Rivers issued her first statement yesterday saying, “On behalf of my mother and our family, we are extremely grateful for all the love and support we've received. At this time, she does remain on life support.”
Today, Melissa added that “My mother has been moved out of intensive care and into a private room where she is being kept comfortable. Thank you for your continued support.” This new statement has people worried, as being kept comfortable in a hospital is not usually a good sign, basically meaning that doctors are going to let nature take its course.
Basically, doctors have done all that they could up to this point, and it's up to Joan to fight this thing out and pull back through.