Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Singer Etta James is `` nearing the ends of her time , '' but her health has improved in recent days allowing doctors to remove the respirator that was helping her breathe , according to her sons ' lawyer . James , 73 , has been in a Southern California hospital for two weeks battling the final stages of terminal leukemia and suffering from dementia . The `` At Last '' singer spent New Year 's Eve watching the ball drop with her sons , Donto and Sametto James , in her hospital room , said Donto James , who played drums in his mother 's Roots band for 15 years . `` She 's all right , '' James said . `` My brother and I would like to see her stay in the hospital a little longer until she gets more stable . Our main concern is for her to be taken care of right . '' Paul Wright , a lawyer represents the sons in their dispute with Etta James ' husband over who makes decisions for her , said Sunday that the singer is `` nearing the ends of her time , but she 's a tough lady . '' The judge overseeing James ' conservatorship approved an agreement last month in which husband Artis Mills is the conservator , but he must equally share `` end of life '' decisions with the sons , Wright said . Mills is also limited in how much of her estate he can spend and he can not `` encumber her music catalog , '' Wright said .
NEW : James ' parents share ` ` end of life '' decisions with husband , Michael John . The ` ` At Last '' singer is in the final stages of terminal leukemia . She is also suffering from dementia . Etta James was born on December 21st .