Lamar Odom Talks Lasting Effects Of His Near-Fatal Overdose: “[The Overdose] Made Me Realize I Couldn’t Live The Way I’d Been Living”

Back in 2015, Lamar Odom suffered a near-fatal overdose in a Las Vegas brothel, as a result of his years-long battle with addiction to sex and drugs. The overdose left Odom in a coma for nearly three days, as family and friends rushed to his bedside armed with prayers. 

Finally, upon waking up and quickly relearning to communicate and breathe on his own, Odom slowly but surely recovered, and in turn, changed his life around for the better. But, according to the former baller, there are still a few negative effects he has to deal with as a result of the medical emergency. 

“I have horrible memory loss,” Odom revealed in an interview with PEOPLE, as he reflected on the dark time, nearly three and a half years later. “My long-term memory was affected as well. Athletically, my balance is poo. I was shocked how weak my body became.”

Fortunately for Odom, it could’ve 

been worse. Odom detailed the events leading up to the near-fatal event in his forthcoming tell-all, ‘Darkness to Light,’ saying, “I decided to spend the weekend of Oct. 10, 2015, at the Love Ranch, a brothel in Las Vegas.” 

“The number of days that blending into nights that I’ve spent with a beautiful woman and a mound of drugs…My getaway weekend would be no different,” Odom wrote. “On Tuesday morning, I lay on the floor in my room at the Ranch, dying. My body was convulsing. The women who kept me company screamed and called 911. I was taken to the Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. There was an unholy concoction of cocaine, cognac, and cannabis coursing through my veins. My heart stopped twice. I had twelve seizures and six strokes. My lungs collapsed, and my kidneys ruptured. I was on life support. Everyone I’d ever loved was looking at me through bleary eyes.” 

Although he was able to reflect, he didn’t remember much of anything. 

“Waking up [on Oct. 16], I was pulling the tubes out of my throat,” he revealed to PEOPLE. “And I was trying to talk, but I couldn’t get the words out. That was the scariest part. And not being able to walk. I’m a big athlete, you know?”

But, what he did remember was the unconditional love and resilience of his ex. 

“Khloe never left my side,” Odom wrote in the book. “She didn’t shower for days. Kim’s resiliency was incredible too. They put chairs together for her to sleep across at night.” 

Now, nearly four years later and drug-free, Odom said the overdose “made me realize I couldn’t live the way I’d been living. Life is too good.”