14 DAY TRIAL // Former NBA player Lamar Odom, best known in the celebrity media for his short-lived but highly publicized marriage to reality star Khloe Kardashian, overdosed on drugs last week, during a 5-day binge at a Nevada brothel. In the early hours of Friday, he woke from the coma and has since been showing signs of improvement.
However, he is not out of the woods just yet, despite the remarkable and unexpected progress he’s made, E! News says.
Lamar Odom’s kidneys are still failing
Lamar was rushed to a hospital in Las Vegas in a coma, with multiple-organ failure. He also suffered several strokes, which doctors feared would leave him with considerable brain damage.
Report sources to insiders at the hospital say that at least that last part is no longer true: Lamar woke from the coma and is responsive, though still “groggy” from sedations. Doctors can’t fully evaluate his neurological condition until the medicine wears off, but they believe he did not sustain any brain damage.
His heart, one of the organs that were failing, is also functioning in normal parameters and he is also breathing on his own, having been taken off the respirator. He’s still being given oxygen, but doctors are trying to wean him off it.
“He is following and comprehending commands and giving the thumbs up and thumbs down when answering, which are good signs,” a source says.
The insider confirms Odom suffered an ischemic stroke, “which is caused by a blood clot preventing blood flow to the brain and is often associated with an overdose of cocaine and other drugs,” the report continues.
Still, as Kim Kardashian confirmed last weekend, he’s able to talk and communicate with them through signs, and while he might not be out of the woods, he’s showing remarkable progress.
Lamar Odom and a severe drug addiction
In 2012, the first rumors that Odom was doing heavy drugs started making the rounds online. Though at the time he was not yet a free agent, his marriage to Khloe was reportedly already in trouble.
After his transfer from the LA Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, amid increasing pressure that came from being a reality star, his performance on the court decreased. By 2013, he was in serious trouble, going missing for days in a row and no longer making an effort to keep up appearances.
Khloe filed for divorce from him in December 2013 (as of the time of writing, their divorce hasn’t been finalized yet), and his addiction spiraled out of control completely. He hit rock bottom last week, overdosing on a combination of cocaine, alcohol and Viagra-type herbal supplements, which came with strong warnings from the FDA for dangerous side effects.
I believe in the power of prayer! Thx 4 ur prayers Lammy- So happy Kendall & I could make u smile 2day God is good! pic.twitter.com/T50WNEnmOL
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 18, 2015