Refusing to buckle to her worst fears, Joan Rivers’ daughter is keeping her “fingers crossed” that a miracle will bring the 81-year-old comedic legend back from the brink of death.
The feisty funny lady was being brought out of a medically induced coma Sunday at Mount Sinai Hospital as her only child waited with bated breath on how she will respond.
“The waking-up process has begun and will take until Tuesday,” a source close to the family told the Daily News. “There is real concern that the part of the brain that controls motor skills may have been compromised, leaving her as either a vegetable or in a wheelchair.”
Melissa Rivers, 46, said her mother has received an outpouring of prayers and encouragement from friends and admirers around the world.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed,” Melissa said in a statement Sunday.
She said her mom, who is in serious condition, was “resting comfortably” and asked that “everyone keep her in your thoughts and prayers.”
While she tried to publicly sound upbeat, “Melissa is apparently totally hysterical and is at a loss for what to do,” the source told The News.
“They won’t know the extent of the damage until Tuesday at the earliest,” the source said of Rivers’ condition.
Sources have told The News that Rivers would not want to live unless she could enjoy “a full and active life … (She) would never want to be a burden on anyone.”
The host of E!’s “Fashion Police” went into cardiac and respiratory arrest Thursday morning while undergoing a procedure on her vocal cords at a private clinic on the Upper East Side.
Doctors subsequently put the Emmy-winner in a medically induced coma to stabilize her vital signs. As of Sunday, she was breathing with the help of a life-support machine.
