Los Angeles, Oct 17 (IANS) Basketball star Lamar Odom, who was put on life support following a drug overdose at a Nevada brothel, has awoken from his coma and is now breathing on his own.
The news was shared by a source close to the situation, reports variety.com.
The former NBA player remains in critical condition, but is finally communicating.
"Lamar is conscious and was able to say hi to Khloé, but his condition remains guarded," the source says of Odom’s former wife Khloé Kardashian.
Odom is no longer dependent on a breathing tube and is wearing a breathing mask instead, according to ESPN.
The player's condition has improved slightly over the past 36 hours as doctors work to make sure his organs function properly.
His heart, kidneys and lungs were all failing just a few days ago after he suffered from multiple strokes.
Kardashian has been by Odom’s dside since Tuesday night.
Her mother Kris Jenner and several of her sisters, including Kim, Kourtney and Kylie, visited him as well.
Odom’s father, his two children and their mother are currently by him.
Odom’s former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, general manager Mitch Kupchak and Reverend Jesse Jackson visited him, too.
Staff at the Love Ranch South immediately called 911 after finding Odom unconscious on Tuesday.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the Nye Country Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Odom had used cocaine, along with “10 tabs of sexual performances enhancers.”
Authorities said blood, along with a white substance, was gushing out of his mouth and nose.
Odom was a National Basketball Association (NBA) power forward for 14 seasons, including seven with the Los Angeles Lakers, five with the Los Angeles Clippers and one with the Dallas Mavericks.
He was released from the NBA in 2013.
In addition to “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” he also starred in the reality spinoff “Khloé & Lamar.”
