Boston Area News

BOSTON (WBZ) ― U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy is "conscious, talking, and joking with his family" after suffering a seizure at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport Saturday morning, a spokeswoman said.

Kennedy's spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said it does not appear Kennedy had a stroke as initially suspected.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, speaking at the Nevada Democratic Convention in Reno, said he spoke to Kennedy's wife Saturday afternoon and was told "his condition is not life-threatening, but serious." 

Kennedy was first rushed to Cape Cod Hospital, and after being in the emergency room for two hours he was transported to Barnstable Airport and was then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital.

A spokeswoman said just before 5 p.m. that Kennedy was conscious and joking with his family while he was resting at the hospital.

In a released statement, Kennedy's office said, "It appears that Senator Kennedy experienced a seizure this morning.  He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure.  Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours."

The hospital couldn't comment on the 76-year-old senator's condition Saturday but an eyewitness told WBZ while Kennedy did not look well, he was alert and awake but was not talking when he was taken to the hospital.  

Kennedy was sedated for the short flight to Mass. General.

Cutter said in a released statement that the senator was under evaluation at the hospital "after feeling ill at his home."

She said after discussion with his doctors in Boston, Kennedy was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for further examination. 

The emergency call first came in at 8:19 a.m. at the Kennedy compound at 50 Marchant Ave. 

Last October, Kennedy under went surgery at Mass. General after a partially blocked artery was found in his neck. The blockage was in his left carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain and face.  This type of operation is performed on more than 180,000 people a year to prevent a stroke.

The doctor who performed the hourlong procedure on Kennedy said at the time that surgery is reserved for those with more than 70 percent blockage, and Kennedy had "a very high-grade blockage."

Distinguishing between a seizure and TIA, often called a mini-stroke, can sometimes be difficult.

Seizures are little electrical storms in the brain. They tend to be brief; an occasional one can happen to anyone even without a prior history of seizures, especially if there has been some prior brain trauma.

A stroke is either ischemic -- a clog in a blood vessel -- or hemorrhagic, bleeding in the brain. Hemorrhagic ones are very rare. Kennedy had the carotid artery surgery to try to prevent the ischemic type.

A stroke kills brain tissue; how much depends on how big it is and how long it lasts. Some people show no lasting effects; others can be partly paralyzed on one side or somewhere in-between.

The surgery was successful and Kennedy returned to work later that same month.

Kennedy has been bothered by an aching back since a 1964 plane crash, which killed a pilot and one of Kennedy's aides. Democratic Senator, Birch Bayh, from Indiana, who was traveling with Kennedy, pulled him from the wreckage. However, Kennedy suffered a back injury, punctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding. Because of persistent pain, the senator often leans on a wall or sits on a stool when he otherwise would be expected to stand for an extended period.

Kennedy was first elected in 1962 to finish the final two years of the Senate term of his brother, Senator John F. Kennedy, who was elected President in 1960.

Kennedy, who is the second most senior member of the Senate, has since been re-elected to seven full terms, representing Massachusetts for 43 years.

Kennedy's fellow politicians have shown an outpour of support.

Sen. John Kerry arrived at Mass. General to see Kennedy around 1:15 p.m.

 Read the political world's reactions to Kennedy health scare.

Kennedy is the lone surviving son in his storied political family. His eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a World War II airplane crash; President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and Robert was assassinated in 1968, when he was running for president.

Considered a liberal lion in the Senate, Edward Kennedy was re-elected in 2006. His current term ends in 2013. The senator made a failed run for the presidency in 1980.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, beginning a tour of hospitals in Eugene, Ore., told reporters that he had been in touch with the senator's family. "Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He's done more for health care than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."
 
Kennedy gave Obama's presidential campaign a big boost this year with his endorsement and has campaigned actively for the Illinois senator.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee, said he awaited word on Kennedy's condition. "Senator Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. 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."

Kennedy was preparing to host the annual Best Buddies Challenge event on Saturday afternoon, a fundraiser for the Best Buddies organization founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver that helps people with intellectual disabilities.

Hundreds are expected to participate in the event, which started with a 100-mile bicycle ride from the Kennedy Library in Boston to Hyannisport, and closes out with a concert at the Kennedy compound.
 
A man walking by the hospital was startled by the news when he asked about the reason for the large media presence.

"Ted? Is he all right? Jeez, I'm taken aback. I just saw him on television yesterday," said Jerry Leonard, 76, a retired bartender.

"He's a Kennedy. His name is synonymous with this area. I'm a Bostonian, too, and he's done a lot for us around here and for the senior citizens in particular. I don't know him but I feel a connection."

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