Ted Kennedy Has Apparent Seizure At Obama Luncheon
WASHINGTON (AP)
A stretcher and ambulance are seen outside the hall where President Barack Obama was having a luncheon with the nation's politicians on Jan. 20, 2009.
WBZ
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., battling a brain tumor, became ill at a post-inauguration luncheon for President Barack Obama on Tuesday and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Kennedy is awake and doctors are assesing him at Washington Hospital Center.
"It looked like a seizure," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who said he was with Kennedy until they reached the ambulance.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said Kennedy said, "I'll be ok, I'll see you later" as he was put into the ambulance.
"The good news is he's gonna be fine," Dodd added.
Kennedy, 76, had appeared in good health and spirits hours earlier when he stepped out of the Capitol and onto the inauguration platform where Obama took the oath of office.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, 91, also left the luncheon early, but his office and others said his health was not the reason.
Byrd's office says the 91-year West Virginian decided to leave an inauguration luncheon after Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was stricken, but not because of any medical problem of his own.
Byrd "is currently in his own office...and is doing fine, though he remains very concerned about his close friend, Ted Kennedy," said Mark Ferrell, a spokesman for the West Virginia Democrat.
Kennedy has suffered seizures since he was stricken and had surgery for his tumor last year, but it was not known what caused him to fall ill at the early afternoon lunch.
Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale said Kennedy was swapping stories with others at their table when "something happened. I don't know what it was, he just stopped."
"It was really kind of a shock to us all," he added.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W., Va., told reporters the president rushed over to Kennedy's side.
"There was a call for silence throughout the room," he said. "The president went over immediately. The lights went down, just to reduce the heat, I think."
In his remarks, Obama said his prayers were with the stricken senator, his family and wife, Vicki.
"He was there when the Voting Rights Act passed, along with John Lewis who was a warrior for justice.
"And so I would be lying to you if I did not say that right now a part of me is with him. And I think that's true for all of us," Obama said.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was released from the hospital on Wednesday morning after suffering a seizure during an inaugural luncheon.
Kennedy's office confirmed that the senator left Washington Hospital Center, where he had been resting overnight for observation.
A Kennedy representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not official, said the Massachusetts senator was in good spirits and that doctors wanted him to get some rest.
Doctors on Tuesday had blamed fatigue for the seizure. Kennedy, who has been under treatment for a brain tumor since last spring, suffered the seizure during an inaugural luncheon after attending the swearing-in of President Barack Obama.
He talked with family and friends and felt well while he was at the hospital, according to a statement released by his office on Tuesday.
The 76-year-old Democrat was diagnosed last May with a particularly aggressive type of brain tumor and has been treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Kennedy's seizure at the inaugural lunch was witnessed by fellow senators. Longtime friend Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., quoted Kennedy as saying, "I'll be OK, I'll see you later" as he was put into an ambulance on Tuesday.
Kennedy had appeared in good health and spirits a few hours earlier when he stepped out of the Capitol and onto the inauguration platform where Obama took the oath of office. At the luncheon, Obama told lawmakers his prayers were with the senator and his family.
Kennedy has pledged to forge a breakthrough on health care reform working with Obama and Democrats who control Congress. Kennedy has been a leading champion of health care reform for decades.
A doctor not connected with the senator's care, Dr. Matthew Ewend, neurosurgery chief at the University of North Carolina, said it's not unusual for patients recovering from brain tumors to suffer seizures.
