Luther Vandross Hospitalized....

Yes, zap this thread!

 

My jaw dropped also...zap this sucka!

 

Luther Vandross health update

E! Online reports that Luther is now breating on his own, but has not yet regained consciousness. Good sign that he's on the mend, though.

 

Finally a better thread subject title.

BC

 

Sorry folks. We all thought the same, because some sites had him written up as if he HAD passed.

At this time, all we know is that he's not happy or well. This may change, against what we hope.

This thread may be used or resurrected if and when any of us know what's up with LV.

 

False alarm, folks.

Vandross Not Breathing On His Own

By Lia Haberman
E! Online

Earlier Thursday, there seemed to be a bit of good news about Luther Vandross' prognosis--his publicist announced that the R&B soul man was finally breathing on his own after being felled by a stroke last month.

But hopes for a quick recovery were dashed hours later, when publicist Lois Najarian said the information was incorrect, and the singer still required assistance to breathe.

Relaying a message from Vandross' mother about the perceived improvement, Najarian initially told the Associated Press this morning that the singer no longer needed a tube in his throat to breathe. That proved incorrect, the publicist now says.

"There's been no radical change in his condition," his publicist, Lois Najarian, tells the AP. The 52-year-old remains unconscious and in critical condition in the intensive care unit at a New York City hospital.

The "Here and Now" singer was stricken in his Manhattan home April 16. Vandross wasn't discovered until hours later and was then rushed to Weill-Cornell Medical College, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

According to his manager, Vandross' convalescence has been slow, hampered by a bout of pneumonia that caused a buildup of fluid in his lungs and labored breathing.

As a result, doctors were forced to perform a tracheotomy last week, inserting a tube through an opening in Vandross' throat to help him breathe easier.

The operation reportedly didn't damage his vocal abilities. "The tracheotomy was performed in a manner in which his vocal cords were not affected or damaged," said his manager Carmen Romano in a statement released last week.

Whether Vandross ever croons another note is an aside to family and friends who are just hoping the R&B legend wakes up.

"Currently, the doctors report that neurologically he is minimally responsive," Romano said in last week's statement. "We're waiting for him to regain full consciousness. I am told this may take some time."

Vandross' hospitalization nixed an appearance at the opening ceremonies of Memphis' Stax Museum of American Soul Music April 30 and a guest-judge gig on American Idol which had been slated for May 6.

The six-foot-three R&B man has waged a very public battle with his weight over the years--clocking in at as much as 340 pounds--making his health a source of speculation. He has also battled diabetes and hypertension.

Through it all, the thrice Grammy'd Vandross has continued to be the go-to guy for silky smooth love songs, including "Give Me the Reason," "Always and Forever" and "Never Too Much." His latest album, Dance with My Father, is due out June 17.