Muhammad Ali Secretly Rushed To Hospital Unconscious
Dec. 2 2011, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
By Dylan Howard - Senior Executive Editor, Star magazine
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been hospitalized after slipping out of consciousness at his Phoenix-area home, Star magazine is reporting exclusively via RadarOnline.com.
In a sign the 69-year-old sports icon is nearing the final round in his three decade bout with crippling Parkinson's disease, multiple sources have revealed the champ was rushed from his wife Yolanda's home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center on November 19.
Paramedics and police have confirmed a 911 call was placed around 6.30 p.m. from a woman at the couple's 6,000 square foot estate.
She stated an elderly male -- who Star has independently confirmed was Ali -- was unconscious.
"The victim started to pass out in the car and when they got him into the house he fell unconscious," Alan Laitsich, a spokesperson for Paradise Valley Police, told Star.
"The 911 tape was filled with details of prescriptions and medical details about the victim who was suffering from an ongoing medical condition. The police department transferred the call to the Fire Unit who sent paramedics."
The Paradise Valley Fire Department told Star that by the time it arrived, an independent company had already transported the patient from the property to a hospital.
It's not known what Ali was treated for at the hospital, nor how long he spent there.
He has since recovered, however, as it's understood the champ spent the Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas with family.
"He has many medical specialists in Phoenix in his life -- some that are renowned doctors in Parkinson's and other fields that have even become close friends with him and the family. So for the family to call 911 for help -- they must have really been scared," a source close to the boxer told Star.
One eyewitness to the drama inside the Ali's luxurious gated community told Star his family followed the ambulance to the hospital in another vehicle.
The medical drama occurred five days after Ali's frail appearance at the funeral for former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, a trembling Ali rose from his seat and vigorously clapped for "Smokin' Joe," the fighter who handed Ali his first loss.
The champ who famously taunted opponents with "I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" held hands for assistance in and out of the church.
Ali and his wife traveled by private plane to Philadelphia, Star has learned.
His family and friends now fear he could have just months left to live -- his strength sapped by the constant battle for survival.
"He's not in a good way," the source said.
In a recent interview, Ali's daughter, Laila, told Star how the ever debilitating incurable illness has taken over and left her father a fading shadow of his old self.
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"He has good and bad days," Laila said. "It's a progressive disease and it's something we both have to deal with. But he still gets out and he loves people. He has a lot of grandkids and he adores them."
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