(BlackDoctor.org) — Blues singer Etta James is in a Southern California hospital and is being treated for both a potentially deadly blood infection, as well as the urinary tract infection that is believed to have caused it.
According to her son, Sametto James, his mother is suffering from sepsis, a potentially deadly blood poisoning typically caused by a bacterial infection.
The 73 year-old blues legend was admitted to a hospital in Riverside, California, earlier this week. She was also hospitalized for the same problem earlier last year.
“It’s really bad,” Sametto James said before adding, “Right now she’s doing a lot better.”
Etta James is a three-time Grammy winner whose songs like “The Wallflower” and “Good Rockin’ Daddy” made her a key figure in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. Her signature song, the 1961 ballad “At Last,” proved her a master of the blues.
James, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, has struggled with obesity in the past. In 2003, she underwent gastric bypass surgery. James also suffers from dementia, leukemia, kidney problems and other ailments.