Naomi Johnson suffered stab wounds to her arm and face. She's in fair condition.
At the time of the attack, the suspect was visiting a relative who shared the room with the victim.
The woman's family tell ABC7 that Johnson was admitted two days ago for a kidney infection.
Johnson's family says she is sedated Wednesday afternoon at Provena-Mercy Medical Center in Aurora. Family members explain she is covered in stab wounds and bruises from the attack which happened Tuesday while she was sleeping in her own hospital bed.
"She lost a lot of blood. She has broken bones. She has multiple stitch markings," said Kiowa Howery, victim's great grandson.
"She's in ICU right now. That's all I can really say. I'm grieved over the situation, very grieved and hurt over the situation," said Tamiko Maddox, victim's granddaughter.
Aurora police say a 39-year-old man stabbed Johnson multiple times at around 6:25 Tuesday evening. When police got to the room, they say hospital security already had the suspect subdued.
Investigators say the man, whose name is being withheld pending formal charges, was visiting his mother who was a patient sharing the room with Johnson.
"We don't know what motive he had. We're trying to determine that. That's why we need to speak to a few additional witnesses. We'd like to speak to more hospital staff tonight," said Lt. Pete Inda, Aurora Police Department.
Johnson's family has expressed they are now left with major worries about hospital safety.
"My concern is they need to have more screening in the hospitals because this could be someone else's loved one," said Maddox.
A spokeswoman for the hospital told ABC7 a weapons screening would not have helped at all in this situation. In a statement released earlier, the hospital praised its staff, security and police saying the incident was unfortunate and unforeseen and they all acted quickly to prevent more serious injury to the patient.
