UPDATE: Preliminary Tests Show Joan Rivers Likely Not Brain Dead

By: Sep. 03, 2014
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Breaking News: Joan Rivers has just died at 81. Click Here for the latest.

ETonline reveals exclusively that a family source has shared that as doctors continue to bring comedian Joan Rivers out of her medically induced coma, preliminary tests reveal that she is likely not brain dead, as had been initially feared.

"Preliminary tests appear to rule out brain dead," the source says. "There seems to be some function."

The good news follows a statement released by Rivers' daughter Melissa this morning, in which she revealed that Rivers had been moved out of intensive care and into a private room. "My mother has been moved out of intensive care and into a private room where she is being kept comfortable. Thank you for your continued support," reads the statement.

Rivers stopped breathing while undergoing a minor throat procedure on Aug. 28 in New York City. She was then rushed to the hospital where she was placed in the medically induced coma. Rivers had performed a comedy show at a Times Square theater Wednesday night and was reportedly in good health when she went to the clinic for the procedure.

On Tuesday, a family member told ET that Melissa has kept a positive outlook throughout the medical ordeal. "There is only one outlook Melissa is looking at now -- She's like, 'When my mother wakes up...,' 'When my mother see this and that ...' There is only one trajectory she sees this going in the direction of, which is positive," said the source. "She refuses to acknowledge any other outcome than Joan coming out of this."

BWW will keep you updated as further details unfold.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos



Videos