Lamar Odom Brain Damaged From 12 Strokes & Drug Overdose: Medical Bills In Millions As Khloe Kardashian Covers Up

Lamar Odom has had a rough year, but it would have been even tougher if his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, had not stepped up to help out. In October, Lamar was discovered unconscious in a Nevada brothel following an alleged drug overdose. Because their divorce was not finalized, Khloe took on the role of making his medical decisions and also offered him her emotional support.

Now residing in Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Odom has accumulated what comes to millions in medical bills, according to ET.

And his health care costs still accumulate as Lamar continues to struggle to recover. Shana Alex Charles, Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Science at California State University, Fullerton, is a healthcare expert. She provided ET with a clarification of how much his medical expenses could be.

“Just your basic hospital stay usually runs about $10,000 a night,” she revealed. “Cedars-Sinai is not basic care.”

Moreover, Lamar requires special care, and Charles accordingly estimated that it could add up to $30,000 to $50,000 each night. And that’s not all, because even when Odom exits the hospital, Charles points out he will need additional care.

“If you add in not just the medical care, but also some kind of long-term nursing home care, for example, for middle-class folks, that’s usually about $9,000 per month,” added the expert.

Because Lamar will want a “nicer” place than the average person, Charles estimates the cost could be “tens of thousands” monthly. As a result, the two years estimated for his full recovery by the star of Keeping Up With The Kardashians could end up totaling millions of dollars.

What is the reality of Odom’s condition? One insider revealed the sad situation to ET.

“His speech is still slurred and he can barely walk on his own yet. He forgets a lot of people’s names — sometimes even his own. He definitely has some memory loss.”

Kardashian cancelled her plans to finalize her divorce in October. As she remains married to Lamar, could she have to pay all of the medical bills? Ryan Stearns, a certified family law specialist from the Stearns Kim & Stearns law firm in Torrance, California, provided ET with some expertise on the legal angle.

“Since [Khloe and Lamar are] still married and these bills relating to his treatment are [considered] debt, they are going to be presumed as a family obligation,” Stearns explained.

However, Stearns revealed that if he had the job of serving as the representative for the reality TV personality, he would show evidence that Odom is having the medical treatment because of what happened in the brothel rather than in their marriage.

“[If I knew that] later she was going to divorce Lamar, I would argue that he’s going through this treatment as a consequence of his ‘whoring’ around,'” added the legal expert. “Namely, that he developed these conditions as a result of nothing to do with their marriage, entirely separate. Then it would be up to the court to determine whether the debts are going to be his separate responsibility.”

Kardashians Covering Up Extent Of Brain Damage?

But will Odom be able to manage his medical bills? Reports in his improvement vary, with Radar Online reporting that the Kardashians are trying to hide the extent of his brain damage.

“Lamar’s still having a lot of trouble speaking,” a source told Radar about Odom. “He really only ever mumbles, and can barely string a few words together. It’s obvious he has extensive brain damage.”

But the Kardashians are painting a rosier portrait of his recovery.

However, in addition to speech problems, Lamar suffers from memory trouble and challenges in walking, said a source cited by the Daily Mail.

“He’s not doing great. His speech is still slurred and he can barely walk on his own yet,” revealed the source. “‘He forgets a lot of people’s names, sometimes even his own. He definitely has some memory loss.”

His estranged wife admitted that she views Odom as having a long road to recovery.

“It’s more his brain is still affected and physically he has to learn how to walk again,” explained the reality TV star. “And he is learning how to feed himself again. All those normal things we take for granted every day and it’s a really long road and it’s going to take a long time.”

The cause of the brain damage with which Lamar is dealing is a dozen strokes following his drug overdose, linked to the loss of oxygen that also resulted in brain damage, as the Inquisitr reported.

A combination of drugs were discovered in his system, and Odom allegedly had been doing crack cocaine throughout his weekend binge.

Kardashians Hope To Continue Covering Up Brain Damage

As to when the public might see Odom in public again? The Kardashians want to keep him hidden to protect his legacy, a source told Hollywood Life.

“Lamar is still in really rough shape and may never be seen in public ever again,” a source revealed to Hollywood Life. “[The Kardashians] may make him take a leave of absence from public life forever almost like Rob Kardashian who hasn’t been seen for a long time in the public eye.”

Odom and Rob aren’t alone in struggling in the female-dominated world of the Keeping Up With The Kardashians clan, as the Inquisitr reported.

Others include Scott Disick, Kris Humphries, and Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner.

[Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images]