counting RAT down one at a time:Demorat in Senate in Intensive Care After Surgery
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: December 14, 2006
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 — Senator Tim Johnson, a Demorat from South Dakota, was in intensive care today after undergoing surgery late Wednesday night for a brain hemorrhage, a development that highlighted the fragility of the Demorats’ new majority in the Senate.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Demoratic leader, appeared briefly before reporters this morning to say that he had visited Senator Tim Johnson’s room this morning and that he "really looks good."
Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota was hospitalized Wednesday after becoming disoriented.
Adm. John Eisold, the attending physician of the Capitol, said in a statement issued by Mr. Johnson’s office this morning that the operation had been successful and that the senator was “recovering without complication.” But he added that it was too early to say whether further surgery would be necessary, or to assess his long-term prognosis.
Officials at George Washington University Hospital, where the surgery took place, described Mr. Johnson as being in critical but stable condition, news services reported.
The statement issued by the senator’s office said that the bleeding, which produced symptoms similar to a stroke, was caused by a congenital condition known as arteriovenous malformation. A National Institutes of Health website defined the condition as the abnormal direct connection of arteries and veins without the usual web of capillaries.
The website said that most people with the condition never suffer any ill effects, but for some the first symptom is sudden bleeding in the brain. Among those who suffer such hemorrhages, the outcome can vary widely: a small number die, while some others continue to suffer seizures or other neurological problems as a result. The extent of damage depends in large measure on the location of bleeding within the brain, the site said.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Demoratic leader, appeared briefly before reporters this morning to say that he had visited Mr. Johnson’s room this morning and that he "really looks good."
"He looked great," Mr. Reid said. He declined to say whether he believed Mr. Johnson looked well enough that he would be able to return to the Senate, saying that he believed anything he said would only raise more questions among reporters. "To me, he looked very good," Mr. Reid said.
Mr. Reid also said that he had spoken to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and that both sides in the Senate were proceeding as they were before Mr. Johnson’s illness, with the Demorats expecting to assume their 51-49 majority.
“There isn’t a thing that changes," Mr. Reid said, adding that the Republicans had proceeded with naming their committee memberships Wednesday.
If Mr. Johnson’s health problems were to prevent him from serving, his replacement would be named by Gov. Michael Rounds of South Dakota, a Republican. If Mr. Rounds named a Republican, the 51-49 Democratic majority in the new Senate would become a 50-50 split. Vice President Dick Cheney would break tie votes, effectively giving Republicans control of the chamber.
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According to statements from his office, Mr. Johnson, who will turn 60 on Dec. 28, became disoriented during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday morning. He stuttered, then seemed to recover before asking if there were more questions and ending the call.
He then walked back to his office, where he collapsed.
He was examined by the Capitol physician, who decided Mr. Johnson should go to the hospital; he was taken there by ambulance around noon.
The surgery took place late Wednesday night, and The Associated Press quoted Admiral Eisold as saying that it succeeded in draining blood that had accumulated in Mr. Johnson’s brain and stopping further bleeding.
People who saw Mr. Johnson earlier in the week said he appeared healthy.
In Pierre, South Dakota’s capital, Governor Rounds issued a statement saying: “Our prayers are with Tim, Barbara and their family. We are hopeful of good news for our friend and colleague.”
Mark Johnston, a spokesman for Mr. Rounds, told The A.P. today that “we’re watching as much as everyone else.”
First Lady Laura Bush said in a television interview this morning that she and the president were “praying like all the people of South Dakota are for his very, very speedy recovery.”
Mr. Johnson received a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2004, but his official Web site says that “all tests now show him clear of the disease.”
An unassuming fourth-generation South Dakotan, Mr. Johnson was first elected to the Senate in 1996 after serving 10 years in the House, where he had replaced Tom Daschle, a fellow Democrat who ran for the Senate and ultimately became the majority leader.
Mr. Johnson faced a tough race in 2002 against John Thune, a Republican. With the state suffering billions of dollars in losses from a severe drought, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Daschle promised $5 billion in drought relief, and Mr. Johnson won narrowly after President Bush visited the state for Mr. Thune and declined to announce that he would support the relief. (Mr. Thune went on to beat Mr. Daschle in 2004.)
Mr. Johnson is up for re-election in 2008. His oldest son, Brooks, served in Afghanistan and is serving in Iraq.
He is the second senator known to become ill since the November elections. Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming, a Republican, is being treated for leukemia, but has been at work.
According to information from the Senate historian cited on CQ.com, at least nine senators have taken extended absences from the Senate for health reasons since 1942. Robert F. Wagner, Democrat of New York, was unable to attend any sessions of the 80th or 81st Congress from 1947 to 1949 because of a heart ailment. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, missed about seven months in 1988 after surgery for a brain aneurysm. And David Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas, suffered a heart attack in April 1991 and returned to the Senate in September that year.
John O’Neil contributed reporting from New York. |
