ABOVE: Joan Rivers appeared healthy and vibrant just hours before surgery went wrong
TORONTO — Joan Rivers is in a medically-induced coma in a New York City hospital after falling unconscious Thursday while undergoing a procedure on her vocal chords.
The 81-year-old comedian and TV personality was at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic on East 93rd Street when she stopped breathing.
Paramedics responded to a 911 call at 9:39 a.m. about a person “in either cardiac or respiratory arrest.”
Rivers was rushed to the Mount Sinai Medical Center, where she was listed in critical but stable condition. It is not known how long the star was deprived of oxygen.
“I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love and support for my mother,” said Rivers’ daughter, Melissa Rivers, in a statement Thursday night.
“She is resting comfortably and is with our family. We ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.”
Melissa, 46, rushed to New York from Los Angeles on Thursday with son Edgar, 13, to be at the comedian’s bedside.
In a 2010 interview with New York magazine, Rivers said she often thought about her own death.
“I make deals with God all the time. ‘Give me 10 more good years and I’ll call it a day,'” she said.
“I feel amazing. I truly feel like I am 25. I walk everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with me. The mind is going better than ever.”
Rivers taped a post-Emmys Fashion Police special on Tuesday and performed in New York on Wednesday night. She was scheduled to perform Friday night in New Jersey.
Her celebrity friends used social media to send their best wishes.
This is an updated version of a story that first appeared Aug. 28, 2014.
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