10 Heartbreaking Facts About Lamar Odom’s Overdose & Tragic Life
The sad, downward spiral of a star.
Former NBA star (and ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian) Lamar Odom was hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after being found unconscious in a Nevada brothel. A source told TMZ, which broke the story, that "it's not looking good." And there are unconfirmed reports that Lamar Odom is brain dead and has almost no chance of recovering.
Here's what we know so far about what's going on with Lamar Odom and a look at some of the turmoil in the troubled 35-year-old's life:
1. Lamar Odom was visiting the Love Ranch South, a licensed, legal brothel north of Las Vegas owned by Dennis Hof, star of the HBO documentary series Cathouse.
2. Odom had moved to Las Vegas in June.
3. TMZ reports a woman found Odom unresponsive in the VIP room. with a thick fluid dripping out of his mouth. She screamed and a manager called 911.
4. He had been partying by himself for days with the brothel's prostitutes. (Hof told TMZ that Odom had arrived on Saturday night. Another report said Hof indicated that Odom "wanted to get away from everybody, wanted to have fun.")
5. A source at the brothel told TMZ that Odom had been taking "herbal Viagra." The Mayo Clinic urges caution when using any of these medications because there's no way to tell if they're safe or not. Some herbal Viagra supplements are known to cause dangerously low blood pressure and others have been yanked off the market because they include unlisted prescription medications. A source from the hospital says drugs were found in his system and that he is in a coma and also suffered a type of stroke often common with cocaine use. Crack cocaine is what he has been rumored to have struggled with in the past.
6. Reports from the nearby hospital indicate Odom was intubated and that medics tried to airlift the 6-foot-10 basketball player to a Las Vegas hospital but he was too tall to fit. Instead, he was transported by highway.
7. Two of Odom's closest friends, Jamie Sangouthai and Bobby Heyward, died within days of each other over the summer. After the tragedies, a source told Hollywood Life: "Lamar is in a terrible place and can’t get himself out. ... Lamar’s friends have him under 24/7 surveillance.” Both deaths were drug-related.
8. Lamar Odom has lived a tragic life. He was born in Queens to a heroin addict father. His mother died from colon cancer when he was just 12. His grandmother Mildred raised him. He has two children by ex-girlfriend Liza Morales, Destiny and Lamar Jr. Another son, Jayden, died from SIDS at 6 months old.
9. His divorce from Khloe Kardashian was supposedly finalized July 17, 2015, a year and 7 months after proceedings began. Their marriage lasted 4 years and ultimately crumbled because of Odom's drug and alcohol addictions. Odom rapped about his marriage problems in an almost incomprehensible (and embarrassing) leaked video.
UPDATE 10/14/2015 10:59PM: It turns out Lamar and Khloe's divorce was not final. The pair are still married and Khloe is now in charge of all of Lamar's medical decisions.
10. In 2013, Odom went MIA for almost three days, and his family and friends feared he was on a crack binge, according to TMZ. Shortly after that, he was arrested and charged with DUI. After all of that, he checked himself into rehab but left the next day. (He did a three-week stint in rehab in 2012.)
Our thoughts and prayers are with Lamar Odom and his family during this time.