UPDATE as of 11/6/15 - 7:45am - On his 36th birthday, the former basketball player is still recovering after being found unresponsive at the Love Ranch brothel in Nevada in October. After being initially treated in that state, he was transferred to a hospital in Los Angeles, where he continues to recuperate.
According to his wife who initially filed for divorce, Khloe Kardashian, "Every hour is different," Kardashian said. "It goes up, and it goes down, but he's awake. He's alive, and that's all I wanted was for him to be OK."
A source close to the family said, "It wasn't just one small stroke, it was a series of strokes. They won't know the extent of the damage for a few months. They need time for the brain swelling to go down."
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We recently reported on former NBA and reality TV star Lamar Odom being rushed to the hospital after being found unconscious in a Nevada brothel. Here's what we have learned as of 10-16-15 at 6:46pm EST:
Lamar Odom is conscious and breathing on his own in a Las Vegas hospital and has spoken a few words, a family representative said.
Odom no longer has a breathing tube, a source told ESPN. He is wearing a breathing mask and remains in critical condition, however.
Sources told ESPN that Odom's condition had been improving slightly over the past 36 hours, but he remained sedated as doctors worked to make sure his organs functioned properly.
"Some people, after injury, will remain in some minimally conscious state forever, but some people can recover years after the incident," said Dr. Phaelaen, a New York physician and brain expert. "The first step is to get vital signs stable then attack what got him here in the first place."
Publicist Alvina Alston issued a statement Friday on behalf of JaNean Mercer, Odom's maternal aunt and godmother.
The statement said in part: "No words can express the overwhelming gratitude we feel for the outpouring of support from around the world."
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Report as of 10-15-15 at 6:58am EST:
Odom suffered brain damage and at least one stroke and is on a ventilator after having been found unconscious at a Nevada brothel where he had been partying all weekend, according to sources close to the athlete.
An NBC News affiliate reported that medical personnel informed them that the two-time Los Angeles Lakers champion had multiple drugs in his system when he was rushed from the Love Ranch to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
There are two types of strokes: hemorrhagic or ischemic. An ischemic stroke occurs as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. It accounts for 87 percent of all stroke cases. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures and spills blood into brain tissue. The most common cause for the rupture is uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure).
A drug like the cocaine found in Lamar's system, is administered through the blood stream and increases the heart rate and blood pressure while constricting the arteries supplying blood to the heart. A restriction in the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart causes tissue disease and can result in heart attacks and strokes.
The only FDA approved treatment for ischemic strokes is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA, also known as IV rtPA, given through an IV in the arm). tPA works by dissolving the clot and improving blood flow to the part of the brain being deprived of blood flow.
For strokes caused by a bleed within the brain (hemorrhagic stroke), or by an abnormal tangle of blood vessels (AVM), surgical treatment may be done to stop the bleeding. If the bleed is caused by a ruptured aneurysm (swelling of the vessel that breaks), a metal clip may be placed surgically at the base of the aneurysm to secure it.
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Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said Wednesday that investigators determined that Odom, 35, had been using cocaine on Saturday, the day he checked in to the brothel in the town of Crystal, but that it wasn't known whether he had continued to do so during the weekend.
A sample of Odom's blood was obtained under a search warrant, but "test results hadn't come back yet," she said.
Khloé Kardashian married Odom in 2009. Reports of their split and imminent divorce were all over the news and...... social media within the past 12 months. But, Los Angeles court records show that the paperwork from a divorce agreement filed three months ago still hasn't been processed.
Divorce attorneys said that means Kardashian could be in a position to make decisions about Odom's medical care and end-of-life directive. It's not clear, however, whether she's formally listed as his next of kin.
"I'm praying to God. I'm asking God to please let him survive," his paternal grandmother, Florence, told NBC News. Many friends are praying for Lamar's recovery as well.
For more up-to-the-date information, be sure to check back here.
