Senator Kennedy Is Hospitalized After a Seizure
Senator Edward M. Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston last Monday.
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Reaction to Kennedy’s Hospitalization (May 17, 2008)
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Caroline Kennedy arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital on Saturday.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy with Senator Barack Obama at a campaign rally at American University in Washington on Jan. 28.
Family members and friends gathered in Boston. One person close to the family said that after an initial scare, Kennedy intimates were reasonably optimistic Mr. Kennedy would recover quickly and fully. Another family friend described his medical condition as serious but not life-threatening.
The senator’s office issued a statement on Saturday afternoon saying that Mr. Kennedy went to Cape Cod Hospital after feeling ill at his Hyannis Port home shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday. He was then sent by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital for further examination, the statement said.
A later statement from the 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.”
Mr. Kennedy had been in Hyannis Port for a gathering his family was preparing to host as part of the annual Best Buddies Challenge fund-raising event on Saturday afternoon. Best Buddies is a charity that helps people with mental disabilities.
Mr. Kennedy underwent surgery at the same hospital in October to remove a blockage in his left carotid artery, in part to prevent a stroke, which can be caused by the interruption of the flow of blood to the brain. The blockage was found as doctors were examining his back and neck, which were severely injured in an airplane crash in 1964. After the surgery, doctors recommended that he take aspirin to prevent blood clots. He was already on medication to control blood pressure and cholesterol.
Mr. Kennedy, a champion of liberal causes and a favorite target of conservatives, earlier this year endorsed Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for president, saying he offered America a chance for racial reconciliation and an opportunity to turn the page on the polarizing politics of the past several decades. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic nomination, was disappointed, but handily won the Massachusetts primary a week after the Kennedy endorsement was announced.
Mr. Kennedy has served in the Senate since 1962, when he won the seat that had been held by his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, with the help of the family political machine and the fortune of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.
Mr. Kennedy evolved into a giant of the Senate, putting his stamp on legislation on civil rights, health care, education, labor and environmental protection.
In the areas of foreign policy and defense, Mr. Kennedy opposed the war in Vietnam, although he came by his opposition slowly. More recently, he worked with Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia in leading the unsuccessful Democratic opposition to the resolution authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Mr. Kennedy has been a consistent opponent of Bush administration policy in Iraq, as well as the surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency.
Although he is a leading spokesman for liberal issues and worker rights, he has often worked across the aisle to advance legislation, including the now-controversial No Child Left Behind education law pushed by President Bush early in his presidency.
The presidential candidates, all of them colleagues of Mr. Kennedy in the Senate, issued statements of concern on Saturday.
Senator John McCain of Arizona, the likely Republican nominee, said: “I was very sorry to hear that Senator Kennedy has taken ill, and like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his 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.”
Mr. Obama, campaigning in Oregon on Saturday, said he had been in contact with the Kennedy family. “We are going to be rooting for him,” he said. “And I insist on being optimistic about how it is going to turn out.”
Mr. Obama called Mr. Kennedy “a giant in American political history.”
Mrs. Clinton said: “My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery.”
Mr. Kennedy’s path has been a rocky one, touched by tragedy and scandal to match his public triumphs. His oldest brother, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., was killed on a dangerous air mission during World War II. His other brothers, President Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated in 1963 and 1968.
In 1980, he mounted a serious presidential primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter, but the effort fell short and Mr. Kennedy has not sought the presidency since, content to amass years and achievements in the Senate. He is now the second-most-senior member of the Senate, behind Mr. Byrd.
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