14 DAY TRIAL // Comedienne Joan Rivers is still in very critical condition after being rushed to the hospital late last week, after going into cardiac and respiratory arrest during routine surgery. She was placed in a medically induced coma and is currently on life support, but her family is still hoping she will pull through.
The 81-year-old star was at a private clinic for an endoscopy after having problems with her vocal chords for some time. She went into respiratory and cardiac arrest and was immediately rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Her condition was listed as critical, and then as critical but stable. Her daughter Melissa flew in to be with her, and she updated fans and fellow comedians on her mother’s condition both on social media and in statements to the press.
In one such statement, she said that Joan was “resting comfortably,” hinting that she was well on the road to recovery.
As it turns out, Joan is a long way from that. TMZ is now saying that the veteran funny gal is “completely reliant on machines to stay alive,” and that the family has to decide now when to turn them off and see if she will make it on her own.
They’re still hoping she will be able to do just that, because Joan has always been a fighter.
“According to our sources, the family will have to decide in the next couple of days whether to keep the 81-year-old on life support. We're told the family remains hopeful that if they do decide to turn off the machines, she will make a turn for the better and fight through it,” the celebrity publication reports.
In her most recent statement, Melissa said that they were “keeping [their] fingers crossed,” and that she was positive all the prayers Joan has been receiving would help.
“My mother would be so touched by the tributes and prayers that we have received from around the world. Her condition remains serious but she is receiving the best treatment and care possible. We ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts as we pray for her recovery,” she said over the weekend, in a statement posted to her mother’s official website.
Joan Rivers was in good health when she went for the endoscopy, save for the trouble she’d been having with her vocal chords. She was under anesthesia when the procedure was done on her, with some media outlets saying the medicine she was administered might have contributed to her current state.