Hang in there, Teddy Kennedy!!

[annabanana]

He's been rushed to the hospital with "stroke-like" symptoms. I hope it's not a bad one. I hope he pulls through so he can see us take back the White House and begin to put our National Nightmare behind us.

[graywarrior]

1. I wish for him to be able to see us win in November.

Come on, Ted! We're all behind you!

[ananda]

2. Yes, if anybody deserves a friendly administration..

.. it's Ted Kennedy.

He's been fighting the uphill fight way
too long.

Pull through, Teddy!

[williesgirl]

3. My prayers are with him and the entire family. He nees to see us win! rec'd

[annabanana]

4. I hope we hear something soon. . . .n/t

[liberaldem4ever]

5. My heart goes out to him and his family

I am praying for him today and hope that he can fully recover from this. I'm thinking about how he sang in Texas (was it in Spanish?) at a Obama rally and it was so cute. It does help to know that he is in a very good hospital and is getting good care. God bless him.

[annabanana]

6. Mass General is a top tier facility...

It's part of Harvard and has the best rep. Apparently he spent an hour at Cape Cod Hosptial before he was lifted out.

[earth mom]

7. Sending good vibes Teds way....

:grouphug:

[horseshoecrab]

8. all best thoughts, prayers, and hopes

for strength for Ted Kennedy! My spectacular senator!

Please pull through Ted!

Ted has a wonderful vascular surgeon at MGH -- the absolute best.

Much love to the Kennedy family and friends.

horseshoecrab

[annabanana]

9. hugs

:hug: I grew up in the Bay State. They are family. I'm there with you.

[horseshoecrab]

27. thanks annabanana!

Hugs and all good things appreciated! :hug:

Love and Strength to Ted, family and friends.

:hug:

Just heard cnn report that full recovery is expected!

horseshoecrab

[Old and In the Way]

10. My fervant hope for a full and speedy recovery.

You've been a tireless fighter for this nation, truly a statesman who fought to make this a better country for all. Even when times were darkest, you were unafraid to fight for what is right. May God grant you the opportunity to be around to see the seachange we all deserve this November.

[mzmolly]

11. Sending my prayers to the Kennedy family.

:( Get well soon good man.

[The Doctor.]

12. I'm very worried... they haven't reported his condition.

That's not a good sign. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

[TahitiNut]

16. Not true. (See my post below.)

[TahitiNut]

13. I'm hoping it's only a TIA like I had in November.

Since he had a carotid blockage removed, it's clear he's got plaque and that's one of the precursors for an ischemic stroke. It's important to realize that strokes come in two distinct ways: ischemic (clot) and hemorrhagic (bleed out). In the case of an ischemic attack, the clot often clears itself within an hour or two - which is what happened to me twice that morning last November. The after-effects of a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) are minor to none. If the clot does NOT clear itself, the have "clot-busting drugs" that will Save The Brain. The problem, of course, is diagnosing the stroke as ischemic and not hemorrhagic. If the stroke is hemorrhagic, any recovery is premised on the glood clotting and shutting of the bleed. Use of "clot-busting drugs" in THAT case is likely to be fatal. Thus, they use MRI to perform the necessary diagnostics ... and the better (more expensive) the MRI the better (prompt and efficacious) the ability to diagnose.

About the TIME ... my first TIA lasted 2 hours from onset to recovery. It happened, I called 911, and I was in the emergency room as it was clearing. Four hours after the first one, I had another ... while still in Emergency but after an MRI, doppler of the carotid, chest Xray, EKG, etc. It took THAT episode about 1.5 hours to clear. In the meantime, all I was given was an aspirin and one Plavix. I was kept overnight and released before dinertime the next day.

So ... even if Senator Kennedy has only suffered one or two TIAs, it TAKES TIME for anyone to know that he'd be OK. So, let's not panic and "conclude" that no news is bad news. It ain't necessarily so!

[annabanana]

25. Thanks for the info TN. Not hearing anything is a little

tough on the nerves...

[The Doctor.]

28. *Whew*. Oh yes dear... I know all about that, but you have the first hand knowledge.

I remember.

Luckily, ischemia is more common than hemorrhage.

I was taking the time frame into account, and I know that whether someone is stable or not is critical in only the first hour. Knowing that Kennedy's care would be exceptional, it was worrisome to me.

I'm willing to bet that they knew you were stable right away... and if I recall, you never became critical.

To me such a delay means only one of two things; status critical, or status deceased. Either one is bad news.

In this case they erred too heavily on the side of caution when they could have reported he was cogent much sooner.


Either way, they gave us a scare, and all looks, for the moment, to be for the best.

Thanks for tamping down my pessimism, you're great at that.

[Exultant Democracy]

14. We need at least 2 more terms for the old lion.

[1776Forever]

15. We need you Ted! Keep up the good fight - I know you will - Blessings to you and yours!

[malaise]

17. Kennedy himself made a phonecall

to a family friend to cancel a lunch date and told them to go ahead without him, so it may not be as bad as we're hearing on M$M. -per CNN

[annabanana]

22. First hopeful note I've seen so far. Thanks!. . . n/t

[lovuian]

18. wish him well

:kick:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

19. Healing vibes and thoughts for Ted and the whole Kennedy family.

:loveya:

[TBF]

20. My thoughts are with the Kennedy family - Teddy is one of my heroes.

[caseycoon]

21. Get well soon Teddy!

We NEED you!

[bicentennial_baby]

23. the Globe is reporting that he had 2 seizures:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/05/ted_kennedy_sai.html

[jwirr]

24. Seizures are usually a warning sign.

[TahitiNut]

29. An ischemic attack OFTEN presents as a "seizure" esp. with internal carotid artery stenosis.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040401/1665.html

I've happily survived the 90-day post-TIA period uneventfully. (Still cleaning up my act and enjoying an occasional glass of red wine with dinner after 17 years of abstinence. BP down to 127/70 from 187/112.)

[jwirr]

30. Thank you and glad you are doing so well now. This health stuff is

hard. I like to eat and diabetes gets in the way.

[Kajsa]

26. Good thoughts and prayers to you,

and your family Senator Kennedy.

:hug: :grouphug: