Posted on 12/16/2006 4:35:25 PM PST by shrinkermd
The blood-vessel abnormality that put South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson in the hospital is relatively rare...
...Arteriovenous malformations, or AVMs, are tangles of blood vessels that disrupt the flow of blood and are believed in most cases to be present from birth. An estimated 300,000 Americans have AVMs of the brain or spinal cord, but only about 36,000 show symptoms...
...One of the biggest dangers of AVMs is bleeding in the brain, as Mr. Johnson had. An estimated 5% to 10% of people with AVM ruptures die, said M. Sean Grady... (About half of aneurysm victims die)
Judging by the speech difficulty Mr. Johnson experienced before he was stricken, the malformation probably was on the left side of his brain, which controls speech... added.
...Removal of the AVM, through surgery or other means, may be considered, but this is a matter of some debate in the medical community...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Pretty rough time for his family.
I pray for him.
So sorry that your mom has had these health issues. Prayers for her and your family.
"This may be fact. The Democrats are only interested in keeping him alive to vote. Sad fact, but true."
I am not so sure they even care if he votes, just so long as he does not die or resign. This is a horrible way to treat Johnson.
I'm sorry to hear that Sissy.
They don't even care if he votes. All they want is power.
Sooner or later someone is going to have assume Power of Durable Attorney for the senator. I doubt that he will be able to make decisions for himself for quite some time, if ever.
His first symptoms were problems with speech. This means something ordinarily but not on every occasion. The bench mark for him is whether and how soon he speaks. When you hear he is speaking his chances improve immeasurably.
>I expect he will remain seriously impaired the remainder of his life.
Like Kennedy and Kerry?
Well, maybe like Kennedy. But surely you know that Lurch is a member of the undead.
Bet there is one Rat that is really excited about the South Dakota 2008 Senate Race........He`s baaaaaaaaaaack, Boys and Girls and sports fans everywhere, here`ssssssssssssss Tiny Tommy
Glad to hear your son made it! Was it a large AVM and/or deep into the cerebrum? I think that's the type Sen Johnson has.
I could be wrong about this, but I think if he's sufficiently incapacited for long enough, a replacement senator must be appointed. Otherwise, his state will be without full representation in the Senate.
not holding out too much hope for his recovery- paper today said he was still in critical- people trying to give it a positive spin say 'no news is good news at this point' meaning there has been no real progress- I hope tha man well, and hopefully he doesn't end up like Sharon, but doesn't look good at this point. http://sacredscoop.com
Many of us are.
And I have been totally unimpressed by all the self-congratulatory posts that essentially have this theme: "Look at me! I'm better than the Democrats and media because I pray for Johnson even though he's a Democrat. I don't think of the political ramifications. Nope. Not wonderful me. I'm not like THEM."
...Removal of the AVM, through surgery or other means, may be considered, but this is a matter of some debate in the medical community...
Sounds like he could have another attack if the AVM is not removed.
Just playing statistics: only a 10% chance he will die of this lesion. He may have a prolonged recovery and be left with residual disabilities but every day he remains alive the chances he will survive improves.
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