Breaking: Kennedy and Byrd Suffer Medical Emergencies At Luncheon

This is bad news all the way around on an otherwise happy day for Democrats. Senator Ted Kennedy was rushed to a hospital after suffering from seizures and convulsions, and Sen. Robert Byrd apparently required medical attention after seeing his friend Kennedy stricken:

Kennedy was at a table with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Vice President Mondale and Mrs. Mondale, and others. While at the table, Kennedy began having seizures that lasted for several minutes. As they were carrying Kennedy out of the room, he was still seizing. President Barack Obama went out of the room with him, but he is back in the luncheon room now.

We are also told that Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., the oldest member of the Senate, was so upset and distraught from what he had witnessed, that he needed to be taken out. Byrd was conscious when he was taken from the room. The two have been friends for a very, very long time.

Developing.

UPDATE:
This report suggests that Byrd was removed prior to Kennedy's health crisis.

UPDATE:
The WaPo timeline of events suggests that Byrd was taken from the room just before Kennedy started suffering the seizures. Obama, who was present at the luncheon, was visibly shaken, which makes sense given that Kennedy was one of Obama's biggest backers.

UPDATE:
President Obama's comments immediately following Kennedy and Byrd being rushed from the room for their medical emergencies:



(HT: Jammie, who also notes that some of the unhinged types are busy displaying their inanities over the medical emergencies for both Senators.)

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of both Senators.

UPDATE:
A 3:30 update at the Washington Post notes that Byrd is fine.

Kennedy, who was diagnosed last year with brain cancer, was shaking and convulsing, according to Senate staff who were present at the luncheon. His head was moving back and forth, as a woman held him. His apparent seizure occurred moments after Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who was sitting at the same table with Kennedy, was taken from the room by staff. There is no word on Kennedy condition, although Capitol security officials said Byrd appears to be fine.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) described hearing a cough when the Kennedy episode began, followed by a "cough, a silence throughout the room." Rockefeller said Obama "went over immediately to be helpful." He said the lights in the room were dimmed, as a large crowd gathered around Kennedy.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he saw Kennedy as the Massachusetts Democrat was wheeled out to an ambulance, and said the senator flashed him "an Irish smile." Hatch told reporters, "I think he's going to be okay, but it's a tough thing."

UPDATE:
Sen. Byrd had left the luncheon after feeling some discomfort, but did not go to the hospital for treatment.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., also left the luncheon after feeling discomfort. Byrd is the longest-serving senator in history.

A spokesperson for Byrd, Jesse Jacobs, told WSAZ-TV of Huntington, W.Va., that Byrd was fine and was not taken to a hospital.

Byrd, 91, was hospitalized March 5 for tests after a reaction to antibiotics. A week earlier he was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a fall at home.

The stress of the grueling schedule, the age of the two men, and their ongoing health issues may have played a role in their respective health emergencies.