MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) -- With her children and evangelist husband Billy huddled at her bedside, Ruth Graham's condition worsened Thursday as she became less responsive to family and caregivers.

A statement released by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said Ruth Graham, 87, who has been bedridden for months with degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck, was experiencing episodes of dropping blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat.

"Mrs. Graham does not have a fever, but has steadily weakened and is receiving measures to relieve congestion related to a recent bout of pneumonia that began two weeks ago," the statement said. "At her request, Mrs. Graham is being treated at home, with minimal artificial support."

Graham's personal spokesman Larry Ross had said Ruth Graham had fallen into a coma, but the updated statement on her condition said the wife of the world-renown preacher was only "semi-comatose" but still experiencing "fluctuating levels of consciousness."

Ruth Graham rallied briefly after she the pneumonia treatment, Ross said, but her health worsened because of her weakened condition. She celebrated her birthday on Sunday and was alert, he said, but in recent weeks had asked that a stomach tube used to provide her with food and fluids be removed.

When the tube accidentally fell out earlier this week, she again renewed that request, Ross said Thursday. After consulting with family and her longtime physician, the Grahams decided to stop giving her nutrients.

"In consensus with her family and others who have observed her levels of deterioration, and in consultation with her physician, she has not received foods or fluid for several days," Ross said.

Graham is still receiving medication through the tube, which has allowed doctors to treat her at the Graham's home in Montreat instead of a hospital, to help manage her pain and discomfort.

On Wednesday, her husband had said she "is close to going home to heaven."

"Ruth is my soul mate and best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side," said Billy Graham, who is 88 and ailing himself with prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease. "I am more in love with her today than when we first met over 65 years ago as students at Wheaton College."

News that Ruth Graham was close to death came as Billy Graham announced that he and his wife would be buried in Charlotte, at the new Billy Graham Library, instead of at The Cove, a Bible training center near the Grahams' home outside of Asheville.

The Washington Post reported last year the couple's youngest son Ned, citing the wishes of his mother, opposed burying his parents at the library. Ruth Graham wanted to be buried at The Cove, he said.

In his Wednesday statement, Billy Graham said he and Ruth decided earlier -- "after much prayer and discussion" -- they would be laid to rest at the library in Charlotte, but kept that decision private until it became clear that Ruth was close to death.

"The two things they've always agreed on is that they'd be buried together and it's a decision they'd make on their own," Ross said Wednesday. "Mr. Graham and Ruth have always known that their final home is in heaven. That's the important thing."

Born in Charlotte, Graham traveled the world for decades building a revival-based ministry that reached millions. He later returned to the Charlotte area, which became the home of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Three former presidents _ Clinton, Carter, and George H.W. Bush _ helped Graham open the $27 million library and museum last month. Graham needed the help of son Franklin, who has taken over the leadership of the association, to reach his seat, and later quipped that the emotional ceremony had such an air of finality that, "I feel like I've been attending my own funeral."

When Graham and his wife die, Ross said, they will be buried at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway in the library's prayer garden -- a symbolic decision to demonstrate both their reverence to God and their "ongoing witness of their faith in Christ."