Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-MA, speaks with guests as they wait for Barack Obama to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America during his Inauguration Ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 20, 2009. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg) |
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., left a Washington hospital Wednesday, one day after falling ill during a luncheon for U.S. President Barack Obama, officials said.
A spokeswoman for the 76-year-old senator told The Boston Globe that Kennedy was "in good spirits" when he left Washington Hospital Center. He had suffered a seizure during a luncheon at the U.S. Capitol with Obama and fellow lawmakers Tuesday, just an hour after the new president had been sworn in.
Kennedy was rushed to the hospital.
The Globe said doctors are urging Kennedy, who is well-known for putting in grueling hours and long work days, to get some rest. They said seizures are common among patients such as Kennedy who have had malignant brain tumors removed, and say it may have been brought about by overexertion.
Kennedy suffered a similar seizure in September and was released after a brief hospital stay in Massachusetts.
His convulsions occurred near the end of the luncheon in Statuary Hall of the Capitol, alarming colleagues and other attendees. The episode drew sober remarks from Obama, whom Kennedy endorsed, who called Kennedy a "warrior for justice" and said, ""I'd be lying to you if I did not say, right now a part of me is with him, and I think that's true for all of us."
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., one of Kennedy's closest friends in the Senate, said Kennedy was speaking and lucid as he was being wheeled out.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., became emotional as the events unfolded and had to be wheeled out. His staff said Byrd, 91, was fine.
