Doctor Expects 'Long Recovery' For Sen. Johnson

[struggle4progress]

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A Sioux Falls neurologist says U-S Senator Tim Johnson may be in for a long recovery period from brain surgery ...

Prolonged sedation was used to minimize swelling after emergency surgery on Johnson for bleeding in the brain ...

That could mean the 60-year-old politician will be in recovery for months instead of weeks.

Rossing says it usually takes just a few days to wean a patient from sedation. Johnson has been sedated since December 13th and is being gradually weaned.

http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=8658

[aquart]

1. It's a six-year term. We can wait.

[krispos42]

2. He's up for re-election in 2008

He might retire and Daschle might try for a comeback then.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. He is up for reelection next year

But even if he never returns to the Senate, he can still hold on to his seat until the end of his term, stopping the GOP from taking control of the Senate.

[zanne]

22. Freddie--What do you mean?

Next year? Don't give me a heart attack! Please explain.

[Freddie Stubbs]

23. His seat is up for reelection next year, 2008

He was reelected in 2002, so he would have to run again in 2008.

[zanne]

24. Thanks for the info, Freddie. nt

[babylonsister]

3. Another Frist, diagnosing without examining? I read he was off

meds a week or more ago.

[struggle4progress]

6. Sen. Tim Johnson to have more tests

The Forum
Published Tuesday, January 02, 2007

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Tests early this week may indicate the kind of recovery that U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson could face as he emerges from a lengthy sedation after emergency brain surgery.

“Physical therapy will be a part of the process. As to what level, it will really take these next tests to figure that out. We’ll know a lot more in the next couple of days,” Julianne Fisher, a Johnson spokeswoman, said over the weekend ...

http://www.in-forum.com/News/articles/151470


'Still waiting' on S. Dakota's Johnson

The Democrats still hold control of the U.S. Senate 51 to 49, although Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., remains in critical condition after undergoing emergency brain surgery more than two weeks ago ...

Johnson's office declined to say Tuesday when and how the senator will resume regular duties, only saying that he needs time to heal.

Dr. Vivek Deshmukh, the neurosurgeon at the George Washington University Hospital who performed the surgery, said last week that Johnson opened his eyes and was responsive to his wife.

"Senator Johnson's overall general medical condition has improved and he is gradually being weaned from the sedation," he said.

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/911489.html (scroll down for story)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

8. About a week ago they said they were beginning to wean him off sedation

Statement from the Office of Senator Johnson
Thursday, December 28, 2006

Washington, DC— On U.S. Senator Tim Johnson's 60th birthday, he remains in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital and is surrounded by his family.

"Senator Johnson's overall general medical condition has improved and he is gradually being weaned from the sedation," said Vivek Deshmukh, MD, neurosurgeon at The George Washington University Hospital. "He is opening his eyes and is responsive to his wife." It is anticipated that Senator Johnson will undergo further testing in the coming days. He remains in critical condition.

http://johnson.senate.gov/~johnson/releases/200612/2006C28A11.html

Interviewing a doctor who isn't the Senator's personal physician is just a way to grab a headline.

[babylonsister]

9. Phew! Thanks. I knew I had read that. nt

[rwheeler31]

5. Is this true?

nt

[ToolTex]

7. This begs the question, why is he still being sedated?

I wonder if possibly his family shouldn't find some other doctors without any political agenda.

At first I wondered why a doctor in SD would even comment on a patient's treatment in Washington DC, but then I thought maybe the doctor in SD wants the Senator to actually recover, and like me, can't imagine why he is still being sedated.

[NNguyenMD]

15. I can offer some perspective on this, he might be on a ventilator still

those of you who have had loved ones in the ICU have seen that horrid image of a human being with the tubes sticking through their mouths, and I can assure you that it feels as uncomfortable as it looks. So many intensivists will give sedatives so the patients are docile enough to not pull out their breathing tubes or IV's. Its customary every morning to stop sedation momentarily and reasses neurologic function. Nurses and doctor will determine the minimal sedation necessary to keep the patients from getting agitated.

I haven't been keeping track of the story so I don't know if Sen. Johnson has been successfully extubated (removed from the vent) and breathing on his own. If he's still on mechanical ventilation, with a projected recovery of several months, its likely they'll have to do a tracheotomy which is the breathing hole thats made surgically through the trachea. You wouldn't think that they are better, but they're actually much easier to manage from a patients and/or caregiver's perspective, and they are much safer over all. Less risk for ventilator associated pneumonia, less resistance breathing through the tube. And its not permanent at all.

Well, thats my two cents on ventilators and why I think he might still be sedated.

[Hekate]

16. Thanks for your input, doctor

We are all pulling for him. It's a terrible thing to happen to one so young -- not to mention that a lot of hope for the nation rides on the Democrats' retention of the Senate.

Hekate

[MADem]

17. I imagine his family approved the public updates

An article I read said basically that sedation helped him rest, which added to his recovery.

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/12/28/news/state/state03.txt

[niyad]

10. from the article, it doesn't appear that this person is on Sen. Johnson's medical team, so why in

the HELL should we pay any attention to his "prognosis".

[struggle4progress]

25. You may be right. But SD media have gone to Rossing and other experts before

for general comments on the case:

Johnson recovery will gain clarity
After critical phase, senator's prognosis easier to assess
By Steve Young
[e-mail]
PUBLISHED: December 20, 2006

... Dr. William Rossing, medical director at the Avera McKennan Stroke Center, said now that it's been a week since the surgery, the main complicating factors for brain-hemorrhage patients such as Johnson are conditions such as pneumonia, blood clots in his legs and other forms of infections.

As for how long the senator has to remain sedated, that depends on how much brain swelling there was, and how quickly his blood levels and other body functions stabilize, Rossing said ...

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061220/NEWS02/612200315/1001/NEWS

[Gman]

11. 50-49 is still a majority

so take your time and get well, Sen. Johnson.

[Mz Pip]

12. Biden was out for 8 months

following a brain aneurysm. It's only been a few weeks so there is no reason to hurry.

Perhaps we are just too used to the instant resolutions that occur on TV dramas. Real life is rarely resolved in hour episodes.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[pnwmom]

13. Strom Thurmond was nothing more than a figurehead

for years.

[oasis]

14. Jesse Helms was a miserable zombie.(eom)

[lindisfarne]

18. Another ESP diagnosis? Strom Thurmond wasn't very alert in his last term(s?) either! n/t

[CreekDog]

19. FWIW, the quoted Dr. was a Republican donor

from Newsmeat.com:

ROSSING, WILLIAM O
SIOUX FALLS, SD 57105
PHYSICIAN PRESSLER, LARRY (R)
Senate - SD
FRIENDS OF LARRY PRESSLER $250
primary 09/13/89

[CreekDog]

20. Also, the quoted NYU "official" stating "usual sedation"

Is not identified as a physician or medical expert and since he's not identified, what is his opinion worth?

[Eurobabe]

21. Dontcha love NEWSMEAT??

Clears up all ambiguity, doesn't it.