Baseball great Joe DiMaggio sits up in bed
Last Updated: Saturday, December 12, 1998 | 8:00 PM ET
CBC News
Dr. Earl Barron, DiMaggio's doctor, said "It's an unbelievable improvement." "He is back to where he was on Thanksgiving Day," Barren said.
On Friday, DiMaggio lapsed into a coma after his temperature hit 38 degrees (102 Fahrenheit).
The improvement was credited to a decision to give him the medication Rifampin -- an antibiotic that fights lung infections -- intravenously rather than orally.
DiMaggio, 84, had a cancerous tumor removed from his right lung on October 14. He developed an infection soon after, and has come close to death several times in the weeks he has been fighting the infection.
Barron said doctors are considering upgrading DiMaggio's condition from critical to serious. But he also cautioned that despite the improvement, DiMaggio was far from cured. "If we can stay on top of it and keep on top of it, I think he will survive," Barron said. "We have to temper that with a man who is 84 years old and has had several serious infections."
