Lamar Odom's family gather at home of aunt who raised the NBA star

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Family and friends were seen going in and out of JaNean Mercer's home
Mercer raised Odom after his mother died of colon cancer when he was 12 years old
Lamar's cousin Albert McDuffie told Daily Mail Online he is proud of Lamar and refers to him as 'my dude'
'I'm calling on all my prayer warriors please pray for Lamar Odom,' said his cousin Melvina Harris Chapman
Odom is fighting for his life after a 'crack-cocaine and opiate-fueled' weekend at a Nevada brothel

Published: 15:43 EST, 14 October 2015 | Updated: 06:30 EST, 15 October 2015

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Lamar Odom's devastated family spent Wednesday rushing to make last-minute travel plans to fly out West as the former basketball star clings to life in a Las Vegas hospital.

Family and friends gathered at the home of his aunt JaNean Mercer throughout the day.

'I hate seeing my boy this way,' Odom's cousin, Albert 'Alleycat' McDuffie, told Daily Mail Online exclusively outside Mercer's home in South Ozone Park, Queens.

McDuffie, 59, is fiercely proud of his distant cousin and also refers to him as 'my dude.'

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Teenage years: Lamar (pictured his sophomore year of high school) played basketball at Christ The King Regional High School in Middle Village, Queens

Family first: Lamar's godmother and aunt, JaNean Mercer (left), helped raise him after his mother died of cancer. His cousin, Albert McDuffie (right), said outside the family home 'I hate seeing my boy this way'

Shining star: Lamar spent most of his professional basketball career playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent seven years with the team

Odom is fighting for his life after a 'crack-cocaine and opiate-fueled' weekend at a Nevada brothel, with sources now saying that his collapse may have been sparked by the reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians.

The 35-year-old had reportedly been at the Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada, for days partying.

Owner Dennis Hof said Odom began foaming at the mouth and vomiting.

Lamar was raised by his grandmother Mildred Mercer and his aunt and godmother JaNean after his mother, Cathy Mercer, died of colon cancer when he was just 12 years old.

That request was made by his mother shortly after she was diagnosed with the disease.

Mercer, a teacher, was instrumental in keeping him on the right track and trying to shape his career while he grew up in Queens.

She helped get him out of New York for his senior year of high school and into Maine Central Institute, so he could focus on his school work.

Power of prayer: Melvina Harris Chapman, Lamar's cousin, asks friends on social media to offer up prayers for the troubled basketball star

Dressed for success: Friends share their memories of Lamar (center) on social media

Odom's ex-girlfriend Liza Morales and their two children, Destiny and Lamar Jr., also flew out to Las Vegas to be at their father's hospital bedside, where his ex-wife, Khloe Kardashian, along with her mother Kris Jenner and sister Kim Kardashian West have been holding vigil.

Meanwhile, Odom's deeply religious family is rallying around the onetime NBA great and praying he somehow will pull through.

'Okay my cousin JaNean Mercer confirm that is true about Lamar Odom who is also my cousin so I'm calling on all my prayer warriors please pray for Lamar Odom,' Melvina Harris Chapman wrote on Facebook Tuesday.

'I know what the power of prayer can do so please please pray pray.'

'I'm not worried I know God got you,' she wrote in a second post to the social media site.