Luther Vandross moved to rehabilitation center for physical therapy

Jet, July 21, 2003

Superstar singer Luther Vandross is making progress after he suffered a major stroke. He recently was transferred to a rehabilitation center.

"He's doing excellent," his mother Mary Ida Vandross told JET. "They have him trying to walk. He's still coming along by the grace of God."

Vandross suffered a stroke at his New York City home April 16 and was hospitalized at New York's Weill Cornell Medical College before this move to a rehabilitation center.

Mrs. Vandross says her son is working very hard in physical therapy. "He's a very determined person. When he sets his mind to do something, he does it."

She reveals that Vandross is able to talk now and is able to eat foods like jello and apple sauce.

She thanks her son's doctors for their assistance in helping him recover from the stroke: "I just want to say the doctors and the entire staff at Cornell are remarkable. They have helped my son do great wonders."

As he continues to make progress, his new album, Dance With My Father, continues to be one of the hottest selling albums of the year.