. News Cube 24: Kidneys Are Improving, Lamar Odom Goes Off Dialysis

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Kidneys Are Improving, Lamar Odom Goes Off Dialysis

Miracles happen. Lamar Odom has been taken off his dialysis and is no longer in need of a kidney transplant, a source confirms to Us Weekly.

The source tells Us that Odom's condition has significantly improved after it was reported that the former NBA player, 35, was suffering from kidney failure this past weekend. He was on dialysis, which serves the same function as healthy kidneys, for six hours a day, and was in need at the time of a transplant.

Odom's shocking medical turnaround was confirmed a day after a source revealed to Us that he is "walking with help now" and "getting better every day." The same insider also told Us that doctors were trying to reverse the damage done to Odom's kidneys, which was initially a life-threatening concern.

The father of two was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel on Oct. 13, and remained in critical condition for nearly 72 hours before he "opened his eyes" that Friday, Oct. 16. On Oct. 19, he was discharged from Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas and transported to L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai via helicopter.

"He is getting stronger every day," the insider told Us on Thursday, Oct. 29. "And [he] has a great team of therapists and specialists working with him. He's 6-foot-11 and weighs a lot, so getting him to walk a little has been really hard."

As TMZ reported on Friday, Oct. 30, Odom is currently staying on the physical therapy floor of the hospital. The source confirms to Us that his motor skills are impaired after he suffered "a dozen strokes" from his initial hospitalization, but Odom is determined to regain muscle function.

Meanwhile, his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, took a break from tending to Odom at the hospital and jetted off to support her boyfriend, James Harden, at the Houston Rockets game on Wednesday night. That same day, a magazine cover featuring the reality star, 31, was revealed with quotes about Odom, prompting backlash from critics and a response from Kardashian herself.

"I want to make this VERY clear.... My people cover, I shot and interviewed for PRIOR to all the events that happened," she sniped on Twitter. "It was contracted press for my book that I wrote months and months ago. Timing is what it is."

Timing, meanwhile, has tested Kardashian's relationship with Harden. The Strong Looks Better Naked author put her relationship with the NBA superstar "on hold" after news of Odom initially broke, but she's taking it day by day.

"As of now, Khloe and Lamar are not romantically together,” another source told Us this week. “Khloe and James are trying to stay in each other’s lives. Each day is something different, but they’re trying to see if they can still be together.”