Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Sen. Ted Kennedy Suffering From Malignant Brain Tumor

This is just coming over the wires. Tests taken at Boston's Mass. General Hospital after Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy suffered at least one seizure over the weekend revealed that he has a brain tumor. It was initially thought that the senior Senator from Massachusetts suffered a stroke, but that was denied by all involved.

The duration of his medical care after the incident suggested that doctors thought something was wrong with various scans, and this news must be devastating to his family and friends.
The senator's office announced that he is not expected to return to Washington this week, and a spokeswoman said the Massachusetts Democrat had not been available to take a call from President Bush earlier in the day.

"Take care of my friend," the president told Vicki Kennedy, who answered the call from the White House to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

There was no word on how long Kennedy, 76, would remain hospitalized.

Kennedy's father-in-law told CBS station WBZ-TV on Monday that the senator had suffered two seizures before reaching the hospital. Only one has been reported by officials.

WBZ said Kennedy had the second seizure during the helicopter ride to Mass. General, according to father-in-law, Edmund Reggie.

"He had a seizure in the helicopter. You think that would be bad, but it's good the doctors said... By flailing his arms and moving his arms and legs and head, it showed he was not a stroke victim," Reggie said.
While I have next to nothing in common with Kennedy's political ideology, I wish him well. It remains to be seen whether the seizures were due to the tumor's presence, or whether they occurred independent of the existence of the tumor. Those questions will be investigated fully by his medical team as they determine a course of treatment.

UPDATE:
MSNBC reports that it's a malignant brain tumor. Kennedy is in the fight of his life.

UPDATE:
CNN: Sen. Edward Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. The hospital treating Kennedy released a statement today saying that the tumor was found during tests after the senator had a seizure Saturday. The tumor is in his left parietal lobe.

UPDATE:
More tests will be conducted before a course of action is determined.

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