Senator Tim Johnson, the South Dakota Democrat who suffered a brain hemorrhage in mid-December has been moved from the Intensive Care unit to a rehab facility, and his condition has been upgraded from critical to fair.
An MRI performed on Wednesday showed the speech center of his brain to be unaffected, he is responsive verbally (although his voice is a whisper because the tracheotomy tube is still in he throat), and able to answer questions.
"It is clear that he understands that people are introducing themselves, he is looking at name badges to try and associate it with the person, he is saying words and responding to commands. It's clear the electricity is on and the system is humming." said one of his physicians.When he arrived at the hospital he was experiencing weakness on his right side, and much of his therapy will be geared toward remediating the physical after-effects. Senator Johnson has several months of rehab ahead of him, and the road will be long, but he is doing well and has survived the ordeal with apparently minimal impact on his mental and intellectual faculties.
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"The fact that Tim is beginning to use words is remarkable as is his strength and determination," said his wife, Barb Johnson, in the statement. "He even maintains his sense of humor when I share e-mails about his grandsons' adventures."
We wish Senator Johnson much good luck with his continuing recovery and look forward to his return to the senate.
(cross posted from Blue Girl, Red State)
