Senator requests updates while recovering

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., is asking for increased updates from his office and staff while he recovers from a brain injury in a Washington hospital.

Johnson's office said the senator, who in December suffered a cerebral arteriovenous malformation brought about by bleeding inside his brain, has been "reading the newspaper and following news," The Hill reported Monday.

"Senator Johnson is actively making decisions about his healthcare and expressing his opinions about his daily activities," Philip Marion, medical director for the Department of Rehabilitative Medicine at George Washington University Hospital, said in a statement.

"Our family continues to be impressed with Tim's progress and the wonderful care and support that he is receiving from the hospital and the people of South Dakota," the senator's wife, Barbara, said in the statement. "Even though there is a long road ahead to complete recovery, we feel that we have gotten our Tim back."