May 18, 2008 2:00 pm US/Eastern
Sen. Kennedy Recovering After Suffering Seizure
BOSTON (CBS) ―
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Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is seen here during a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on April 8, 2008.
Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy is awaiting test results that could help doctors determine what caused his seizure Saturday morning at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport, Mass.
Dr. Larry Ronan of Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed late Saturday that Senator Kennedy suffered a seizure. "Preliminary tests have determined that he has not suffered a stroke and is not in any immediate danger," Ronan said in a written statement. "Over the next couple of days, Senator Kennedy will undergo further evaluation to determine the cause of the seizure, and of course of treatment will be determined at that time."
Kennedy's office released this statement regarding the senator Sunday night. "He has been with his wife, three of his children – Kara Kennedy, Curran Raclin and Caroline Raclin – and has been with his sister Jean Kennedy-Smith. He is resting comfortably and has spoken on the phone with Obama (and) Sen. Dodd. We expect a pretty quiet night. Tomorrow or the day after next, we will get results and pass them along."
Joe Kennedy and his wife went to the hospital Sunday to visit the senator. On his way out, he gave the media a thumbs up and said "good" when asked how Kennedy was doing.
Kennedy was first rushed to Cape Cod Hospital just after 8 a.m. Saturday. After being in the emergency room for two hours, he was transported to Barnstable Airport and then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital.
In a released statement, Kennedy's office said, "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."
An eyewitness told CBS Station WBZ-TV in Boston while Kennedy did not look well, but 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.
Last October, Kennedy underwent 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. The doctor who performed the hour-long 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."
The surgery was successful and Kennedy returned to work later that same month.
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 early Saturday afternoon.
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.
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