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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Kennedy 'Eating Ice Cream' After Surgery On Artery
2007-10-13
Senator's Carotid Artery Was 70 Percent Blocked

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is expected to remain hospitalized for a few days, while recovering from surgery to repair a partially blocked artery in his neck. The blockage was discovered during routine examination of a decades-old back injury.

Kennedy underwent the hour-long procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital on Friday morning to repair his left carotid artery - a major supplier of blood to the neck and head. WBZ has learned that artery was 70 percent blocked.
More likely it was 99% blocked since birth.
By Friday afternoon, doctors said Senator Kennedy was sitting up, eating ice cream and drinking ginger ale. He planned to watch the Red Sox game Friday night.
Send cheese. Lots of cheddar cheese.
His recovery is expected to be quick. "After a very brief recovery period, Senator Kennedy will resume his normal schedule in Washington and in Massachusetts," his spokesperson said.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Cambria, the hospital's chief of vascular surgery. The Massachusetts Democrat suffered no complications and the senator was expected to be released in several days, Kennedy's office said
The doctor stayed at a Holiday Inn the night before.
"As part of a routine evaluation of Senator Kennedy's back and spine, MRI studies picked up an unrelated, asymptomatic blockage in the senator's left carotid artery," said a statement from Kennedy's Washington office. "This morning, Senator Kennedy underwent preventive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to remove the blockage."
Asymptomatic? You mean nothing will change? Durnit.
Kennedy, 75, is in relatively good health for his age, but he has been bothered by an aching back since a 1964 plane crash, which killed a pilot and one of Kennedy's aides. Then-Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., who was traveling with Kennedy, pulled him from the wreckage but Kennedy suffered a back injury, punctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding.

Because of the persistent pain, the senator often leans on a wall or sits on a stool when he otherwise would be expected to stand for an extended period.
Or think.
Kennedy had a routine back examination on Oct. 4, followed by an MRI exam at Cape Cod Hospital on Tuesday. That night, doctors told him of the arterial blockage.

Kennedy campaigned Wednesday in the Merrimack Valley for Niki Tsongas, a Democrat seeking the 5th Congressional District seat in a special election next week, before heading to Massachusetts General for additional tests.

Kennedy is the lone surviving son in a famed political family. His eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a World War II airplane crash, another sibling, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, while his remaining brother, Robert, was assassinated in 1968.

Kennedy, considered a liberal lion in the Senate, was re-elected in 2006. His current term ends in 2013. The senator made a failed run for the presidency in 1980.
2013?! Sigh. Do they make cheddar cheese with trans-fats?
Posted by:Pheagum Phuth6556

#18  may not dissolve it, but you tend to worry less about cholestrol with copious applications of alcohol.
Posted by: Frank G   2007-10-13 21:04  

#17  I was under the (Mis)Understanding that Alcohol dissolved cholesterol?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2007-10-13 19:44  

#16   C'mon Teddy - you really must try the Crisco parfait! Its our specialty.

just dip it in vodka and he'll gobble it down.

~:) / Crisco parfait...eeeerutboosh [vomit sound]
Posted by: Red Dawg   2007-10-13 18:10  

#15  Angie: Sounds like it's about time to develop some of those other symptoms . . . . ;-)
Posted by: gorb   2007-10-13 16:21  

#14  ...had the Senator enjoyed the forced mandatory state health care he wanted for the rest of us, he'd still be on a waiting list [most likely till he died] for surgery at his advanced age.

The other day I had to have one o' them fancy medical scans. There was a certain amount of tussling with the insurance company. The doctor's judgment that I needed the test wasn't good enough for them, for one thing. They wanted to know what symptoms I had. There were several I didn't have (and wasn't about to wait until they showed up, which was the whole flippin' point of the test). Had I been completely asymptomatic, I'd have never have been given a test for no good reason. And this is with a pretty good insurance company. Nice to have Kennedy money, I suppose.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2007-10-13 14:08  

#13  Give me Kennedy over Reid any day. As long as I don't have to ride in his car.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2007-10-13 13:29  

#12  Shit Zen I'd never heard of such a thing! LOL!

Because of the persistent pain, the senator often leans on a wall or sits on a stool when he otherwise would be expected to stand for an extended period.

Nope it's because he's so drunk.
Posted by: Icerigger   2007-10-13 13:17  

#11  Holy porc, Zen! LOL!
Posted by: twobyfour   2007-10-13 12:39  

#10  As a dedicated culinary enthusiast, I can think of nothing more appropriate or suitable for this dirtbag's medical and political situation than this:

Posted by: Zenster   2007-10-13 12:34  

#9  Kennedy, 75, is in relatively good health for his age, but he has been bothered by an aching back since a 1964 plane crash

How 'bout that car crash? Oops, we're not supposed to talk about that.
Posted by: Intrinsicpilot   2007-10-13 12:11  

#8  Crisco parfait? Oh, you mean the Dove Bar?

Read the label sometime. It's hard to understand how they make almost pure fat taste good.
Posted by: KBK   2007-10-13 10:58  

#7  but apparently with ManB00bs....
Posted by: Frank G   2007-10-13 10:32  

#6  a "Liberal Lion" is like a "Lion of Islam".
Posted by: Frank G   2007-10-13 10:32  

#5  In the classical form of late 20th century liberal philosophy of "One set of rules for thee and another set of rules for me", had the Senator enjoyed the forced mandatory state health care he wanted for the rest of us, he'd still be on a waiting list [most likely till he died] for surgery at his advanced age. Just ask the victims customers of national health care in England, Netherlands, etc. Great being an American of privilege isn't it. Go sell your guilt elsewhere.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2007-10-13 10:26  

#4  Ick. Reminds me of the old, and crude, Cheech and Chong schtick, "Hey, Margaret!"

If you don't know it, you probably don't want to.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-10-13 09:38  

#3  C'mon Teddy - you really must try the Crisco parfait! Its our specialty.
Posted by: WTF   2007-10-13 09:38  

#2  Because of the persistent pain, the senator often leans on a wall or sits on a stool when he otherwise would be expected to stand for an extended period.

In every cloud there hides a silver lining.
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-10-13 08:49  

#1  Ice cream, eh? I'll pitch in for a gallon of bacon ice cream for this Masshole.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2007-10-13 08:43  

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