Tim Johnson, Your Country Needs You.

Can someone please explain to me why Senator Tim Johnson, D-S.D., is not voting on the most important issues the U.S. Senate has considered since, oh, the Gulf of Tonkin resolution?

Yes, I know he's recovering from a nearly-fatal brain aneurism, and as someone whose family history includes stroke victims, I emphathize strongly.

But really, they were propping up Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and faking his votes for years after he was, for all intents and purposes, you know, dead.

Johnson's not bed-ridden. There are photos on his Senate web site of him undergoing physical therapy, walking with a cane. His Newsroom page has more than a dozen press releases just this month announcing the millions of dollars in funding that he has secured for South Dakota.

So why does Harry Reid keep using the absence of Senator Johnson as an excuse for the Senate Democrats not having even a one-vote majority (Joe Lieberman notwithstanding?)

I understand and appreciate the importance of near-constant physical therapy for those who have suffered brain injuries. If it were me, I'd want to be home, as far away from the lethal miasmas of D.C. as I could get.

But these, dear Tim, are perilous times. The fate of this country and the entire planet are quite literally at stake. I don't believe that getting you onto the floor of the Senate, whether in a wheelchair or a hospital bed, to vote to preserve the Constitution of the United States, would kill you.

But even if it would kill you, I am still asking - nay, demanding - that you do it.

When the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence, they were signing their own death warrants. If they'd been caught by the British soldiers who patrolled every street, they'd have been hanged. No trial, no appeal, no delay.

Is your taking a break from physical therapy to cast a vote to preserve the nation they risked their lives to create so much to ask?

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Senator Johnson Update

Senator Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, has been discharged from the hospital and moved to a private rehabilitation facility. The location of the facility was not disclosed, that the Senator may focus on his recovery.

He is spending a lot of time in Speech, Physical and Occupational Therapy sessions, with a key focus of his treatment being strengthening his right side, which was compromised by the time he reached the hospital emergency department on December 13 of last year.

The Senator underwent emergency surgery to repair an Arterio-Venous Malformation (AVM) that had ruptured. An AVM is a congenital circulatory defect, and most people who have one never know it. Most are discovered when another condition is being treated. An AVM is basically a tangle of oversized arteries and veins. Most don't rupture and cause no difficulty, but some do. Senator Johnson's was a pretty severe case.

In 1988, Senator Joe Biden suffered an aneurysm (different etiology, but very similar in consequence) and was absent from the Senate for six months. He recovered and returned and no one even thinks about it today. We have gotten a lot better at treating these things in the last 20 years, so I optimistically look for the Senator to return to the Senate at least part-time and to cast key votes by mid-April.

Now, the Senator just needs time and therapy, and he is getting both at the rehab facility he has selected.

An aide to the Senator was quoted as saying the Senator was working hard at the physical aspect of his recovery with the intent to run for and retain his seat in 2008. Some time back he began resuming some of his senatorial duties from his hospital bed.

I wish him a speedy and thorough recovery and look forward to his triumphant return to the Upper Chamber.

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Senator Johnson on the Mend

Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) is resuming his role as “Senator” from his hospital bed in the rehabilitation unit where he is undergoing physical and occupational therapy to recover from brain surgery to correct an Arterio-Venous Malformation (AVM) that had ruptured befell him two months ago. “At this point, he has requested more contact with office and is looking for updates from staff.” his office said in a press release on Friday.

The Senator is reading news reports and studying up on issues that the senate is expected to take up, and might be able to return to the Senate and resume casting votes in just a few weeks, said his spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher.

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Senator Johnson Moves to Rehab Facility

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.

[SNIP]

"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."

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.

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)

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