Lamar Odom’s Condition Devastates Oprah With Reminders Of Drug Problems Faced By Her Own Family
Lamar Odom’s tragic condition has sparked innumerable headlines, lots of speculation, and a plethora of sympathetic comments. Surprisingly, today’s headlines include a comment from someone a bit unexpected: Oprah Winfrey.
Former NBA star Lamar Odom was hospitalized Tuesday after he was found unconscious in a Las Vegas brothel. Fox News reports that Odom is on life support, and the 911 call released today indicates that Odom may have taken cocaine and a sexual performance enhancer called Reload. When Odom was found by two employees at the Love Ranch brothel, he was foaming at the mouth and had blood coming from his nose, according to the 911 call.
Lamar’s current situation is just the most recent in the former Keeping Up With the Kardashians star’s battle against substance abuse, according to reports.
Oprah Winfrey says she’s pained by Lamar Odom’s overdose http://t.co/p9TLnllsQz
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) October 15, 2015
The situation hits particularly close to home for media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who lost her half sister, Patricia Lloyd, at the age of 43 to a drug overdose in 2003. Oprah’s sister died in her apartment in Wisconsin, and at the time, the coroner ruled her death the result of a drug overdose. Oxycodone was found in Oprah’s sister’s system.
While speaking in an interview with Extra, Oprah said she had sent her sister to rehab twice, only to see her sister finish treatment and return to her former lifestyle. Oprah knows what it’s like to love someone struggling with drug addiction, and she said she was “devastated” by Lamar Odom’s situation.
“It reminded me of having to deal with drugs in my own family… It is a battle that you can’t win until they decide they want to win. In my own family we lost that battle, I put my sister through rehab twice, she came out of rehab and went right back on Oxycontin and there it was, gone, dead. I know how frustrating it is because you want to be able to help, you want to be able to do something, and there’s nothing you can do until the other person decides they want to change.”
In the interview, it is noted that Oprah has interviewed Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom in the past.
Our thoughts are with @RealLamarOdom, who once told us, “God is good” http://t.co/2PzdC8uKcy pic.twitter.com/fOlmKB4ctA
— O The Oprah Magazine (@O_Magazine) October 15, 2015
Since Lamar Odom’s condition became known, family members have rushed to Las Vegas to be beside the former Khloe & Lamar star. Lamar’s two children, his father, and Khloe Kardashian are all said to be present.
In addition, several of Khloe’s family members, including Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, and Kris Jenner, have all been seen at the Sunrise Hospital. Kim, Kourtney, and Kris are said to have since returned to Los Angeles.
TMZ reported Wednesday that Lamar has had four organs shut down and has had several mini strokes since entering the hospital. The media outlet gave Lamar a 50/50 chance of survival, and recent reports indicate that his condition has shown no improvement.
In a separate article, TMZ also reported that Khloe Kardashian is the one who is currently making medical decisions for Lamar Odom, as the two are still legally married. Khloe and Lamar signed divorce papers in July, but reports indicated that a judge has yet to sign off on the paperwork.
Since Odom’s hospitalization, the Kardashian clan has spoken out asking for prayers for their estranged family member, led by Kardashian momager Kris Kardashian. Kris posted the following photo to Instagram.
https://instagram.com/p/81ksy9G-Mn
The video below tells more about the drugs Lamar Odom allegedly had in his system when he was hospitalized.
[Photo by Andreas Rentz/Bogarts]
