Mitchell not in coma, ‘has her full senses’
Representatives for Canadian songwriting legend Joni Mitchell denied Tuesday widely circulated reports that the musician was in a coma with “no immediate prospects for getting better.”
“Contrary to rumours circulating on the Internet today, Joni is not in a coma,” wrote JoniMitchell.com in a statement. “Joni is still in the hospital — but she comprehends, she’s alert, and she has her full senses. A full recovery is expected.”
The gossip website TMZ.com reported Tuesday that Mitchell was “so impaired as to be incapable of being assessed.”
TMZ’s reported source is legal documents filed by the singer’s longtime friend, Leslie Morris, who is attempting to obtain conservatorship over the unresponsive Mitchell.
The Canadian equivalent of conservatorship is “guardianship,” and would allow Morris to make decisions for Mitchell’s health care and finances. Morris, a former manager for Crosby & Nash, is reportedly taking on the role because Mitchell has no relatives close enough to manage her affairs.
Sources for Mitchell said the document simply gives “Morris the authority — in the absence of 24-hour doctor care — to make care decisions for Joni once she leaves the hospital.”
On March 31, the Saskatchewan-raised Mitchell was found unconscious in her home, according to an official statement on JoniMitchell. com. “She regained consciousness on the ambulance ride to an L.A. area hospital. She is currently in intensive care undergoing tests and is awake and in good spirits” it added.
Several days later, another post noted “Joni remains under observation in the hospital and is resting comfortably. Her progress is encouraging as she continues to improve each day.”
In a December interview with Billboard magazine, Mitchell, 7 1, said she had stopped touring due to Morgellons Disease.
Although the condition is not medically accepted, it is said to be characterized by itching, crawling sensations under the skin and the emergence of mysterious filaments from the skin.
“Fibres in a variety of colours protrude out of my skin like mushrooms after a rainstorm: they cannot be forensically identified as animal, vegetable or mineral,” Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times in 2010.
The Mayo Clinic describes Morgellons as an “uncommon, unexplained skin disorder,” but adds that the Centers for Disease Control have noted that the symptoms for Morgellons are similar to delusional parasitosis, a mental illness in which the patient falsely believes they are infested with parasites.