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Lamar Odom In Coma After Being Found Unconscious In Nevada Brothel [UPDATE]
Lamar Odom at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012 (Getty Images)
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Lamar Odom, the former Clippers and Lakers forward, is reportedly in a coma after he was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel yesterday. The brothel's owner told TMZ that Odom was found unresponsive with "mucus-type liquid coming out of his nose and mouth." Estranged wife Khloe Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner are reportedly by his bedside at a Las Vegas hospital.
Odom had apparently been at the Love Ranch South in Pahrump, Nevada, since Saturday and was using an herbal substitute for Viagra. Per TMZ, "Someone at the Ranch who was around Lamar tells us he was popping 8 to 10 herbal Viagras at a time. There are perils to the drug — it can cause dangerously low blood pressure and it can restrict blood flow to vital organs. Another source at the ranch says Lamar was taking the actual Viagra drug from a prescription bottle." TMZ says that while Odom is alive, his heart is failing.
The 35-year-old basketball player had also reportedly ordered a bottle of cognac, and there was a third of the bottle left when he was discovered. TMZ suggests that Odom was upset by Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which featured his and his ex's interactions. Kardashian and Odom were married in 2009 and separated in 2013; their divorce has not yet been finalized.
News of Odom's condition prompted his sister-in-law Kylie Jenner to cut her livestream short yesterday; his other sister-in-law Kendall Jenner tweeted:
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please don't go.
— Kendall (@KendallJenner) October 14, 2015
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Lamar Odom, when he was with the Los Angeles Clippers, driving against Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013 (Getty Images)
According to the Review Journal, Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said that Odom "arrived at Desert View Hospital in Pahrump at 4:16 p.m... Odom, 35, couldn't be transported to Las Vegas by helicopter because of his stature, Wehrly wrote in the release." Odom is 6'10".
Odom has been troubled in the past few years, fighting addiction to drugs and alcohol. Viewers of Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Khloe and Lamar will recall Odom's drug-addicted and absentee father appearing and asking for financial help. Odom himself was raised by his grandmother in Queens, NY; his mother died of colon cancer when he was 12. TMZ says, "The Kardashians are the closest Lamar has to an actual family."
Love Ranch South owner Dennis Hof said Odom "wanted to get away from everybody, wanted to have fun." Other than being in a "somber" mood, he appeared to be in "good spirits," Hof claimed.
Odom's former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant reportedly flew to Las Vegas to be by his side.
Update 1:40 p.m.: Doctors say that Odom has a 50/50 chance of survival because four of his organs, which include his kidneys, are failing, sources at the hospital told TMZ. His failing organs, in addition to his stroke and heart problems have added to his current status.
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Update 10:15 a.m.: A source tells E! News that Odom appears to have suffered a stroke as a result of a drug overdose. "Likely there's brain damage, but they're not sure how much," said the source. "Virtually every drug imaginable was found in his system." TMZ reports that doctors have found crack cocaine and opiates in his system, and that his arms showed track marks. Despite being treated for an overdose, they do not believe it was a suicide attempt.
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