Ella Fitzgerald Undergoing Tests
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Jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, hospitalized for treatment of diabetes complications, was resting comfortably Thursday, sitting up and talking to friends on the telephone, a spokesman said.
Fitzgerald, 69, was in fair condition. She has been undergoing tests and treatment since checking into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in August, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.
She had experienced pain and swelling in her right foot due to diabetes, he said.
“She’s sitting up, she’s wearing a robe, she’s eating,” Wise said. “She didn’t seem to be in pain. I saw her and we talked for a few minutes and she was very much a lady.
“It is not a threatening situation.”
Fitzgerald, known for her improvisational “scat” singing, has recorded more than 250 albums and collected 11 Grammy awards in her 40-year career.
She underwent heart bypass surgery last year and has performed wearing glasses since undergoing surgery for a detached retina in 1971.
Her biggest hit, “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” which she wrote and recorded in 1938, is enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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