Sen. Chris Murphy to miss several weeks of Senate votes while recovering from stroke
Seven Lights
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Friday after a small hemorrhagic stroke, and will spend several weeks at a rehabilitation center, missing Senate votes as he recovers.
Murphy, 53, gave his diagnosis in a written statement. “Last Saturday afternoon, I felt something was not right with my body and called 911 out of an abundance of caution, and I’m glad I did,” he said. He was diagnosed with a small bleed in the thalamus region of the brain. His office said Sunday that he had felt numbness in his arm while at his son’s hockey game, was taken to a local hospital, where the stroke was discovered, and was then transferred to Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Jose Suarez, the chief of neurosciences critical care at Johns Hopkins, said in a statement released by the senator’s office that Murphy “has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation.” What led to the stroke was not disclosed.
A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds. Symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, trouble understanding or speaking, one-sided weakness, neck stiffness and fainting, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The thalamus sits above the brainstem and relays sensory information between the spinal cord and the brain.
Murphy said the medical event was “a scary experience for me and my family,” and thanked the public for respecting the family’s privacy. He said he is staying engaged with his team and colleagues remotely while he recovers. “My staff continues to carry out our legislative priorities, serve constituents, and ensure the work of my office continues uninterrupted,” he said. He asked to be able to “get back to work on the quickest timeline possible.”
Murphy has been viewed as a possible contender for the White House in 2028. His absence removes a senior Democratic voice from the chamber for the weeks of his rehabilitation, and his office gave no date for his return to the Senate floor.