This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A spokeswoman for Lamar Odom’s aunt says the NBA star woke up and spoke three days after being found unconscious at a Nevada brothel.

Alvina Alston, publicist for JaNean Mercer, Odom’s maternal aunt and godmother, said that Odom spoke a greeting and gave a thumbs up Friday morning, his first communication since being hospitalized.

A person who is close to Odom’s estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said that the former basketball star was able to say hi to Kardashian.

Odom has been unconscious at a Las Vegas hospital since being found Tuesday at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada.

Mercer is the sister of Odom’s late mother who helped raise him in New York, where she still lives. Mercer and other family members, including Kardashian, are at the hospital.

Mercer had earlier thanked the public for its support, saying the family was focused on his “complete healing”.

The statement said in part: “No words can express the overwhelming gratitude we feel for the outpouring of support from around the world.”



The statement said: “His complete healing is paramount and our primary focus.”



Authorities are still retracing Odom’s $75,000, three-day visit to the brothel that started late afternoon Saturday, with blood test results to determine what caused his medical episode still pending.



The brothel’s owner and spokesman have said that he chose two women to accompany him in a VIP suite on his first visit to the ranch.

Odom had said that he had taken cocaine before his arrival, and the brothel said they saw him drink alcohol and take as many as 10 supplements sold as “herbal Viagra”.

One brand that he took, Reload, was the subject of a 2013 warning from the Food and Drug Administration, which said the pill contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in prescription Viagra.

The brothel also said he became upset on Sunday following a phone call where his former wife’s television show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, was mentioned. But he was generally in a good mood, even suggesting that he stay an entire week at the brothel in the rural community.

Odom was then found unconscious there Tuesday with white and reddish substances coming from his nose and mouth. He was breathing and taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas.

Kardashian went to the hospital that night and since then, friends, teammates and loved ones have visited and posted messages on social media asking for prayers.