[CrimsonTide4]

By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 1, 2003; Page C01


NEW YORK, April 30 -- Doctors treating Luther Vandross are waiting for the singer to achieve fuller consciousness so they can determine the extent of neurological damage he suffered from a stroke two weeks ago, the singer's spokeswoman said today.

Vandross, 52, remained in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at the Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Hickenbottom said. He has been in the ICU since the April 16 stroke felled him inside his apartment overlooking Central Park. He has never returned to full consciousness. Though he is breathing on his own and not on life-support machines, he is being fed intravenously, said Lois Najarian, a spokeswoman for Vandross.

Najarian rebutted reports that the Grammy-winning singer is comatose. Neurological tests have shown him to have some mental responsiveness, but at a level doctors classify as "minimally responsive," she said.

"He is, I would say, not in a state of full consciousness to the point where they could tell what kind of impairment there is, what paralysis if any, how his speech might be affected," said Najarian, also a vice president of J Records, Vandross's label.

"There's no prognosis because they're still waiting for him to become more alert."

It isn't even clear whether the singer is able to recognize people.

"There was a day, early on, when he did open his eyes and he looked at people and squeezed their hands and there was a sense that he recognized them," Najarian said. But she doesn't know for sure.

Fans of the buttery-voiced balladeer, whose love songs have been the soundtracks of relationships smooth and stormy since the 1980s, have been on edge in recent days as the seriousness of his condition has been revealed. Prayer vigils have been held on the airwaves for Vandross, and Najarian said today in an interview, "I think Luther can use as many prayers as possible." He is surrounded by his mother, Mary Ida Vandross, his nieces and his longtime friend and business manager Carmen Romano, said Najarian.

Published reports have placed Vandross close to death. Though doctors attending Vandross apparently are not commenting on his condition and care, Najarian said the confusion may be due to the up-and-down state of things. He has been on antibiotics to treat various infections, and when pneumonia set in, he underwent a tracheotomy.

"It's been a real roller coaster," Najarian said. Nonetheless, she said, "the feeling that we're all getting is a very hopeful one, that he turned the corner in terms of being life or death.

"Of course, anything can happen," she added.

And whatever does happen, Vandross's latest CD, a memorial to his father, will be released as scheduled in June. Despite the touch-and-go nature of his condition, Vandross's family wants the release of "Dance With My Father" to go forward, Najarian said.

Vandross described the work as his "best album to date," Najarian recalled. It is based on his memories of his father, who died of diabetes when Vandross was 8 years old. Vandross's mother told the Tom Joyner radio program on Monday that she also had lost two other children from complications of the disease.

Vandross's first album, released in 1981, went platinum, and his gentle, spiritual personality helped to gain him a wide, loyal fan base. His health has long been a public affair. He has spoken plainly about his struggle with his weight, and has experienced dramatic fluctuations in size.

Three years ago he dropped from a high of 340 pounds to 220. He expressed thankfulness for his achievement on the ABC News program "20/20" in February of last year.

"I've never been more healthy than I am now," he said. "I wish I was this healthy when I was 25."


© 2003 The Washington Post Company