NEW YORK (AP) – Luther Vandross contracted pneumonia after suffering a stroke and had to undergo a tracheotomy to help him breathe, but the procedure didn’t damage his vocal chords, his representatives said Monday. The Grammy-winning singer remains in critical but stable condition, and spokeswoman Lois Najarian told The Associated Press: “We expected him to be out of intensive care right now.” His business manager, Carmen Romano, released a statement Monday confirming that Vandross suffered pneumonia during his hospitalization and had to have a tracheotomy, a procedure in which a hole is made in the throat and a tube is inserted to assist breathing. Vandross, 52, had a stroke April 16 at his Manhattan home; he was alone for hours before being discovered, Najarian said. He’s been hospitalized at Weill-Cornell Medical College. Romano also said Vandross is minimally responsive neurologically “and we’re waiting for him to regain full consciousness. I am told that this may take some time.” Najarian said Vandross hadn’t opened his eyes or spoken since his stroke and “he’s had to fight off quite a few infections.” “There was a real feeling that he would have regained consciousness by now,” she said. Najarian said doctors haven’t been able to determine whether Vandross suffered any permanent neurological damage from the stroke, such as paralysis. As for his prognosis, she said: “I think it’s a day-to-day analysis of the situation; no one really knows what to expect.”
Well, now he can whistle while he works.
Poor guy, that’s a hell of a lot to go through. C’mon Luther, we’re pulling for you!
I was just about to post on this subject. This is truly sad news, I pray he recovers.
Although I never personally met him, I have a couple of friends who are very close to him. They said he is a truly nice guy and I hope he bounces back. He has been through some tough times before, so I have every belief he will pull through this as well!
Upon hearing this news – the part where they say Luther’s vocal cords were not damaged-- my husband exclaimed, “Fat lot of good his vocal cords are gonna do him if he never wakes up!”
Hubby is pretty upset about Luther.
I hope he recovers!
I started a thread about this, well, sort of…