Lamar Odom
Former Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom almost died after he suffered a "circulatory death," a source said. He is pictured Oct. 4, 2010. Getty Images

Former Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom almost didn’t make it to the hospital where he is currently being treated. Medics frantically revived the ex-NBA player after his heart stopped more than once in the ambulance, Radar Online wrote in an exclusive report Wednesday.

Odom, 35, wasn’t able to be airlifted because of his stature, so instead he had to be taken to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas via ambulance. It was a rocky journey. “Lamar had to be revived several times when his heart stopped en route to the hospital in Vegas from the hospital in Pahrump [Nevada],” the insider said, calling it a “circulatory death.”

But the former reality star had the doctors on his side. “The emergency room doctor was communicating with the medical team in the ambulance for the entire trip, and the truck is equipped with defibrillator paddles, which were used to get Lamar’s heart beating again every time it stopped,” the source said. “His blood pressure was also dangerously low.”

The ex-NBA player’s massive height -- he stands at 6-foot-10 -- left medics unable to fly him to Sunrise Hospital. The extended transfer time of more than an hour, meant he “lost critical treatment time,” the source said.

Lamar Odom Khloe Kardashian
"Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star Khloé Kardashian and former Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom are reportedly still married. They are pictured together Nov. 2, 2011. Getty Images

Four of his organs were failing and he had a 50-50 shot at survival, TMZ wrote. Still, there was hope he could pull through. “Lamar could survive this,” the insider told Radar Online. “It’s just too early at this point to determine what will happen.”

"Keeping Up With the Kardashians" reality star Khloé Kardashian, 31, reportedly rushed to be with Odom. She was purportedly joined by matriarch Kris Jenner and older sister Kim Kardashian. Odom’s father, Joe, and Odom's children from previous relationships were also reportedly at the hospital.

The couple is still legally married. Even though they both signed divorce papers in July, a judge never approved the paperwork due to a "backlog" in the California courts.

Odom was found unconscious by an unnamed woman at Love Ranch South, a legal brothel west of Las Vegas. He admitted to taking drugs before he went to the Love Ranch, but took only herbal supplements for Viagra once there, a source told TMZ. He was in critical condition and “fighting for his life.”

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