That said, they need to prepare for every outcome. 
 
 Doctors have indicated to the family that the longer Lamar remains unresponsive, the less likely he may have normal brain function if and when he wakes up. As such, the family was also told to prepare for "everything," including a protracted stay in the hospital. The basketball player's family was told that because he likely suffered multiple strokes, he could have severe physical and mental impairment, including inability or trouble doing things like speak, walk and swallow. 
 
 If Lamar's coma persists long-term, he will have to be transferred to another facility that provides special rehabilitative care. Because a judge in L.A. has not signed off Lamar's divorce from Khloe due to a backlog in the system, the E! reality star is still in charge of making medical decisions on his behalf. He does not have an advanced health care directive in place stating his wishes regarding whether he wants to be kept alive by machines should he remain comatose. ||||| Lamar Odom Ray of Hope!!! Heart is Responding 
 
 Lamar Odom's Heart Responding 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 10:57 AM PT -- Reports are being posted that Lamar is now communicating in some fashion, but our sources say he is not. There are some body movements, including eye opening, but doctors have made it clear the movements are all involuntary. 
 
 Lamar Odom's condition has improved in a hugely important way ... his heart is on the mend ... TMZ has learned. 
 
 Sources familiar with the situation tell us, tests on Lamar's heart Friday morning revealed his heart function is "much better." Doctors have told Lamar's friends and family this is a good sign of improvement, that a critical organ is responding. 
 
 Doctors have asked for "calm" in Lamar's room because they do not want him stimulated .... because non-stimulation promotes healing. 
 
 Toward that end, doctors have ordered that virtually no one have access to Lamar's room. We're told Khloe is still by Lamar's bedside.
– Family and friends say they have hope as contradictory reports surface on the condition of former NBA player Lamar Odom, who remains in a coma in a Las Vegas hospital. TMZ reports doctors say Odom's heart function was much better Friday morning and the 35-year-old is improving. But an anonymous hospital source tells USA Today that prognosis may be "prematurely optimistic." And according to E! Online, the best that can be said is Odom is no longer getting worse. "He's not getting better, and that has everyone worried," an anonymous source tells E! Doctors have stopped the strokes and brain swelling, but Odom is still breathing and eating through tubes. Odom was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel Tuesday after reportedly taking cocaine and sexual performance pills.