Etta James Terminally Ill: Doctor Asks for 'Prayers'
Etta James' medical condition has worsened, and doctors are asking fans to pray for the now terminally ill 73-year-old.
James, who is battling leukemia and suffering from dementia, was hospitalized in May for sepsis, a life-threatening blood infection.
During that time, the "At Last" singer's manager, Lupe De Leon, told TMZ that James was fine. "[Etta] will be home soon. She is a very strong woman and will probably live to be 100 years old," Leon said.
A conservatorship hearing for James' estate is already underway, and the famed blues singer's live-in doctor spoke with PE.com about the singer's ailing health. Dr. James confirmed that James, whose real name is Jamesette Hawkins, now has very limited communication consisting of “uh-huh” and “no.”
“They (the fans) know she’s been sick, but not how sick...I am Southern and Christian and would just ask for the prayers of her fans and friends,” Dr. James said.
James' condition was deemed incurable a few weeks ago, but it is believed that doctors have not given her a time frame.
The singer's past has been a combination of tragedy and mostly success.
In the 1970s, James faced a number of legal woes that stemmed from her alleged heroin addiction.
The married mother of one was arrested on multiple occasions for various reasons, including drug addiction, cashing bad checks, forgery, and alleged drug possession.
Despite her struggles, James was able to translate her pain into song, thus producing timeless classics such as "I'd Rather Go Bling" and "Tell Mama.”
In 2004, James was ranked number 62 on Rolling Stone's “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list, and the year before, she was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. James has received a total of six Grammy awards since 1994, and in 2001 was inducted into The Blues Hall Of Fame.
