'His outlook is very poor'
DiMaggio in coma, not responding to treatment
Posted: Friday December 11, 1998 10:11 AM
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DiMaggio's pneumonia has worsened and his temperature has shot up to 102 degrees AP |
HOLLYWOOD, Florida (AP) -- Joe DiMaggio lapsed into a coma after
his temperature shot up to 102 degrees and he is not responding to
medication, his doctor said Friday. "His outlook is very poor,"
Dr. Earl Barron said, pointing to a recurrence of the fever and worsening
pneumonia that has clouded the overall health picture of the baseball
great. "I don't know how long, but I would guess not very,"
Barron said. The latest setback comes after doctors drained fluid from
his lungs Thursday and said congestion in the lungs had improved.
But Barron said a CAT scan of his chest showed that his pneumonuia had
worsened and his fever had returned. "We've stopped all sedation
because it is no longer necessary," said Barron. "He's unconscious because
of the disease." Barron had found a sliver of hope in DiMaggio's
battle against pneumonia in his left lung and a persistent infection when
not much material was suctioned in Thursday's procedure. Barron,
a cardiologist who has treated DiMaggio for five years, had characterized
the finding as "a good sign. It means he's not producing as much."
He had said an earlier intestinal infection had cleared up and DiMaggio's
blood pressure, heart and kidneys had been performing well.
DiMaggio, who entered Memorial Regional Hospital October 12, had a
cancerous tumor removed from his right lung two days later. Fluid was
drained from his lungs several times since then and his blood pressure
dropped so rapidly on Nov. 16 that a Catholic priest was summoned to
administer last rites. When his fever shot up to 102 degrees
last weekend, doctors summoned relatives and friends. His condition was so
grim that doctors even discussed signing a "Do Not Resuscitate" form, but
his attorney and longtime friend Morris Engelberg said he would not
consider it. He is not strong enough to have chemotherapy for the
cancer, however. "It's the pneumonia, not the cancer, that is the problem,"
Engelberg said.
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