Lemme nurse him back to health.
Posted on 04/11/2007 1:01:30 PM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Tim Johnson's Washington office is being made wheelchair-accessible in preparation for his return from rehabilitation for a brain hemorrhage.
When Johnson will come back to the Senate is still not clear. The South Dakota Democrat has been in a private, undisclosed rehabilitation facility since February, when he was released from the George Washington University Hospital in Washington. He is not able to walk and has limited use of his right side.
Johnson spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said Wednesday that the senator would be in the rehabilitation facility "for a while longer" and would undergo outpatient therapy before returning to the Senate. She would not speculate on how long that will take.
When he does return, Fisher said, Johnson is expected to use an electric scooter to get around. Staff and Capitol workers are widening aisles and doorways in his office, as well as the area around his desk, and Johnson's personal bathroom will be refurbished to make it easier for the senator to use.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Bless his heart...prayers for Sen. Johnson that he does get to that point, where he can resume his job.
Lemme nurse him back to health.
They should swap space and give him Max Cleland’s old office.
Sorry to hear of the disability, and best wishes for his continued healing.
I believe he supported the war and he is routinely described as a "moderate" Democrat. (Whcih could mean someone who is "only" 90 percent liberal, but probably is still better than much of his crazy party.)
Nice.
In addition, I grew up in a small town in the 40s and 50s, where people with disabilities were simply included in the activities of their extended family. From a very young age, I spent real time with real people who had many disabilities.
In the early 1990s, my present husband and I spent 9 months in a medical massage course with a concentration on rehabilitation. I worked as a massage therapist, on MD, DO and APRN referral, on clients in varying stages of post stroke/cerebral incident rehab for 11 years. I retired from that work just this January, as I have another business that has grown to the point where it is taking all my time. My husband, however, is still in practice and I work part time scheduling his appointments, taking histories and charting progress.This includes time spent with clients discussing and observing their difficulties and process of recovery.
In short, my experience is of many real people in the real world over a long period of time, coupled with a better than lay knowledge of the processes involved.
One of the concomitant symptoms of any spinal cord, brain/CNS injury is depression. It varies in degree and each individual deals with it according to who they were prior to the injury. I have known extraordinary individuals who overcame their disability in a relatively short time, some who never accepted their condition and became whiners and others who remained jerks. But I have learned that usually the person is aware and present within their body, regardless of their ability to effectively communicate with the outside world. It bothers me a lot to read the partisan disrespect I have found on threads concerning Tim Johnson. He is the same person he was, modified by a traumatic experience. He has been tested as I hope I never am. There is nothing as brutally honest as a rehab ward where many patients are working out at the same time. If he is confident enough of his abilities to have his office modified for a wheelchair or a scooter, then I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he can discharge his senatorial duties.
BTW, if he can use a scooter, then his trunk muscles are strong enough and his balance is good enough for him to sit upright without support. He also must have stamina just to spend more than an hour at a time on a scooter and to deal with transfers to the toilet or a regular chair. He may end up with no more disability than Bob Dole or John McCain and perhaps less than Byrd.People can be very sensitive about appearing publicly when one side of their face is paralyzed (they can drool) or their speech is not what we consider normal. I do not read anything sinister into Sen. Johnson not appearing in public just yet. There but for the grace of God goes any one of us.
Thank you very much.
There has been little criticism of Johnson here. What is expressed is the complete disregard of the Party of Treason which lies constantly. Johnson could be near death and the Party of Treason would NEVER acknowledge it. So this story IN NO WAY leads me to believe Johnson is doing well or better or has even thought of returning to the Senate.
Also, he cannot be completely paralyzed on his right side if he can use a scooter. This implies to me that he can sit upright without support, has adequate balance/stamina and his rehab will include a lot of exercise designed to strengthen the trunk, paraspinals and diaphragm. He may not even have been aphasic, per se, but might just have lost control over the muscles that control speech. I am not aware that we have been told if he had damage to the speech centers or just focal dystonias (contractions/spasms) of the muscles of speech. Those muscles can be retrained and there are massage procedures to help release the spasms. Modern rehabilitation medicine is a wonderful thing. Spend enough time in a rehab facility and you will believe in miracles, but these are miracles that take a combination of will and extreme effort on the part of the patient and dedication and creativity on the part of staff.
I doubt the donks have much to say about anything. This is in the hands of the Senator, his med staff and his family. IF the man was terribly dysfunctional, no one would remodel his office for accessibility, as this sort of remodel is expensive, especially the bathroom and doorways. The fact that the office is being made accessible for a scooter is very encouraging in regard to his progress.
When someone is recovering from a brain injury, they do a lot of thinking, even if their ability to communicate is impaired. Ask anyone who has experienced this. Ask med staff how they treat anyone in a coma or ask someone who has survived coma. Many people have extremely active mental lives even when they seem out of it to the observer and they can recount much of this after they emerge. My late husband was in and out of coma three times. He heard us and incorporated our conversations into his own thoughts. I have had people accurately describe things that went on in the room while they were comatose, including whether it was day or night and whether the blinds were open or drawn.
that is not funny........
being in a leadership position demands more than intelligence ....
It demands communication skills that can express both complex and simple ideas to a wide range of people of various intellects....
Can Mr. Johnson do that will have to be determined.....
but being a Senator is more than just pushing a vote button....
We will have to wait and see. As I understand our system, Mr Johnson’s constituents will have to make that judgement. Not every Senator is a leader or carries clout within their caucus. Some simply are there to bring home the bacon and can expect a share of the spoils just for “pushing the voting button.” Some of those who make the most speeches and give the most interviews often appear to simply enjoy the sound of their own voice. I hardly think of the vociferous Ted Kennedy
as someone with the “communication skills that can express both complex and simple ideas to a wide range of people of various intellects....”
I think I am realistic, rather than charitable. Today it is quite possible to suffer a cerebral incident, make it through rehab and carry on competently in the rest of ones life. I have so far read nothing that implies Tim Johnson is permanently brain damaged or otherwise incapacitated to the point of not being able to do his work. We have had Senators and Representatives who are chair-bound, have permanent physical disabilities, have spent time in chemo, are senile or who speak in talking points strung together and punctuated with “you know”
My points were that there is often not only life after such a trauma, but meaningful intellectual capacity, including the ability to communicate with competence. It all depends on the individual and the details of their circumstances. We really have not been told those details and , IMO, they are not anyone’s business until Senator Johnson returns to work.
As a case in point, the entire media reported that Tony Snow had “liver cancer”, which has turned out not to be precisely true. Until today, I doubt most of us were aware that there were 34 types of lymphoma or that there were types that could respond readily to treatment and allow the patient to live a full and normal life.
Knowing what little has been given about Senator Johnson’s condition would you expect he would be qualified to continue in these occupations: medicine, law, aircraft commander, etc? And if so, would the public flock to such a person to secure such services?
The basic problem here is that the standards for being a US Senator, both in the past and in the present, are virtually nil. Seemingly, anyone who can still breath and get on the floor is qualified to make our country’s policies.
I note this thread has been pulled from extended news, but why is another question.
For some reason, the title of this story caused me to remember the very first episode of Star Trek...
dirtboy: I swear, I didn't see your post before I wrote! :0)
I am not aware of any physical barriers to being a lawyer and we all know how many unethical lawyers get their licenses returned after a period of time even with ethical violations, not to mention felonies.
I definitely would have second thoughts about anyone in Johnson’s condition, as we know of it, commanding an aircraft and since there are physical qualifications for that job, it is obvious he wouldn’t qualify.
Most Senators are attorneys.
I agree there should be qualifications for legislators, both at the State and Federal level. I also think it will never happen in our society as it exists.
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