NBA basketball and reality TV star Lamar Odom faces months, even years, of physical, mental and legal fallout from his near-fatal bender at a Nevada brothel last week. The binge left him physically shattered, and his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, emotionally shattered.
Odom is reportedly improving as he fights back from being found lying unconscious, face down, on October 13. In the days that followed, Odom was said to be in a coma and on life-support as Khloe and members of her family, distraught, rushed to his hospital beside.
Odom’s medical emergency came after days of partying in the brothel. A report in the New York Times quoted the brothel’s owner that Odom said that he had done cocaine before his arrival, and those in the brothel said they saw him drink alcohol and take “herbal Viagra” supplements.
When he was found, Odom was in extremely critical condition with white and reddish substances coming from his nose and mouth, the Times said.
After his successful NBA career and then his marriage into the reality TV Kardashian family, Odom’s life seems to have gone from fairy tale to out-of-control in just a few years. Celebrity watchers whispered that he was addicted to cocaine and alcohol and those afflictions had ruined his marriage. Still, nobody expected this.
“Lamar Odom has had drug issues and alcohol issues in the past and has been suspended from the NBA for drug use. When you add in the constant reality TV star status,the stakes go up on addiction,” says Michael Bloom, of the Pasadena Recovery Center. “When pharmaceutical drugs and synthetics come into play, the body can not process them and overdosing and hospitalizations are more frequent.”
The message? If addictions can happen to someone as powerful as Odom, to someone who had everything – then addictions can happen to any of us. They can kill us. But there is hope, because addiction treatment is available and it does work.
Bloom’s father founded the Pasadena Recovery Center. The state-licensed, 98-bed, drug and alcohol treatment facility is located in north Pasadena. The facility is familiar to television viewers as home to “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” a program which aired through 2013 and was hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky, also a Pasadenan.
Bloom knows that addiction is a disease that affects the entire family of the afflicted loved one – just the way the Kardashian family members’ lives have been thrown into chaos by Odom’s collapse.
The basic treatment philosophy at Bloom’s Recovery Center is a twelve-step approach. The program integrates treatment of chronic substance use with the spiritual, mental, and physical recovery. The Center’s staff includes physicians, psychologists, and drug counselors.
“Addiction hits everyone, from Yale to jail, from Park Place to park bench,” says Bloom.
“In the 15 or 16 years, I’ve seen a lot of things,” he continues. “But addiction is treatable. There is help available.”
The Pasadena Recovery Center is located at 811 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena. Visit http://www.pasadenarecoverycenter.com/our-mission. Call (866) 663-3030.
