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Kennedy hospitalized, may have suffered seizure |
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By Andy Barr and Jessica Holzer
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Posted: 05/17/08 03:37 PM [ET] |
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is under evaluation at Massachusetts General Hospital, may have suffered a seizure, according to a statement issued by his office.
The Massachusetts Democrat was airlifted to Cape Cod Hospital Saturday morning after suffering from what television networks first described as “stroke-like symptoms.” But the senator appears to have had a seizure.
"Sen. Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours," according to the statement, which said the senator was undergoing a battery of tests to determine the seizure's cause.
According to cable news reports, the Hyannis fire department responded to a call from the Kennedy family compound at 8:30 a.m. After spending nearly two hours in the Cape Cod emergency room, Kennedy was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Kennedy had preventive surgery in October to unclog a partially blocked artery in his neck.
Kennedy, 76, is the second-most senior member of the upper chamber after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and the third-longest serving senator ever.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), who is battling for the Democratic presidential nomination, issued the following statement through her campaign: “My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery."
Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, reportedly said, ““My thoughts and prayers are with Teddy. He is one of my favorite people and so hopefully he is going to be okay.”
Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican nominee for president, also expressed his well wishes for Kennedy's recovery, saying he and his wife "anxiously await word of his condition."
He also praised Kennedy's leadership in the Senate. "He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner," he said.
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