Johnson ‘making progress’

December 15, 2006

The latest news on Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-S.D.) condition continues to be encouraging.

Following surgery Wednesday night to drain the bleeding and repair the circulatory defect that caused it, Johnson began to regain consciousness Thursday.

“Specifically, he has been appropriately responsive to both word and touch,” announced Admiral John Eisold, attending physician of the U.S. Capitol.

Johnson’s wife, Barbara, cast that dry report in more human, hopeful terms. The senator was responding to her voice and following directions after surgery, she said. By Thursday morning, he was reaching for and holding her hand.

Eisold added that “no further surgical intervention has been required,” though doctors will be watching to see whether bleeding recurs in the next 48 to 72 hours.

All of this, of course, suggests there’s reason to be optimistic about Johnson’s future.

With Johnson improving, we can hope that speculation about Senate seats and shifting majorities will be moot, but it’s worth noting that short of death or resignation, this will remain Johnson’s seat.

…Never has the Senate forced a member out of office because of a physical or mental inability to serve.

That hands-off protocol could be a boon to Democrats as they ponder the possibility that Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) could be incapacitated for months or more after emergency surgery to treat bleeding in his brain. If Johnson dies or leaves office before the new Congress convenes next month, it will erase the Democrats’ 51-49 majority and probably return control of the Senate to the Republican Party.

But if he survives and if history is any guide, the only force that will drive Johnson from office before his term expires in 2008 will be a decision by the senator or his family. The Senate — not governors or voters — has the constitutional power to force a member out, but has been loath to use it.

“No one in the Senate wants to have that kind of responsibility for judging whether another member is capable or not,” said Don Ritchie, associate Senate historian. “The Senate is a family, as well as a club. There’s a real sense of sticking together.”

The NYT added, “Even if Mr. Johnson is unable to vote in January, the Democrats would have a 50-49 majority in the Senate, which would allow them to pass a series of resolutions awarding them chairmanships and majority membership of committees.”

Harry Reid added that he had spoken with Mitch McConnell, and that “both sides in the Senate were proceeding as they were before Mr. Johnson’s illness, with the Democrats expecting to assume their 51-49 majority.”

“There isn’t a thing that changes,” Reid told reporters.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who thinks allowing someone from the other party to appoint a successor is a rule that needs to go. We should require office holders to designate their successors, and force these successions in cases where the office holder is unable to serve.

  • Not ot forget the South Dakota precedent where a GOP senator remained disabled and unable to function for 3 years in the 70s, and no one moved to remove the guy.

    On a medical note, does anyone know how the doctors ‘monitor’ the bleeding–is it through some sort of MRI machine, or something else?

  • SKNM,

    True but, the Governor of WV is a Dem and would likely appoint a Dem to replace Byrd so the net result is fresh legs.

    I think we should follow Senator Dr. William Frist’s advice and keep Johnson alive by any means necessary (if there are complications of course). Culture of life and all that.

    We all hope for a full and speedy recovery.

  • I read somewhere (here?) that the SD governor is thinking about running for the Senate in 2008 and wouldn’t want to give any Republican opponent an incumbency advantage by appointing him. I still think the honorable thing would be to appoint McGovern with the understanding that he won’t be candidate in 2008. I hope, and trust (given recent good news), that all this is merely an academic exercise.

  • Precedent hasn’t meant much to the Republican congress. They don’t even follow the letter of the law much less the spirit of it. If they see a chance to take control they will.

    Sick thought: if Johnson can raise his hand in a vote he’s as capable as half the congress already.

    Get well soon, Mr. Johnson

  • While Johnson is away, all it would take is for Joe Lieberman to skip a vote in order to throw it to the Republicans. I wonder if he’ll take advantage.

  • In response to #2, Sen. Johnson will have at least one follow-up CT scan (intracranial blood shows up just fine on CT, and it’s cheaper than MRI, so the latter isn’t usually used). His intracranial pressure and oxygen saturation (i.e., how much oxygen is getting to the brain) are being monitored directly. He will also be monitored for seizures, which are very common after brain trauma (not necessarily full-blown grande mal; usually just absence seizures).

    However, if he has a rebleed, it’s most likely going to show up as symptoms before (or at the same time as) it shows up on the monitors and long before they can get him to a CT scanner, so he’s also being very, very closely watched by medical staff. He’s in an ICU (presumably a dedicated neurosurgical ICU) where he can be physically watched more or less constantly. Since he’s responsive, they will be checking things like grip strength and ability to follow commands, as well as pupil response and reflexes. Once he can speak (he’s probably still intubated), every single medical staff person who enters his room will ask him his name, where he is, and the date (checking orientation and awareness) until he’s ready to leap out of the bed and strangle them with his bare hands out of sheer annoyance. They will do a general neurological exam frequently, but will focus especially on the functions controlled by the brain area where the original bleed was.

    The fact that he has so far had an unremarkable recovery (still early in the game, though) and is responsive is a good sign with regard to his ultimate recovery, but it’s most likely going to be a long process and he may never recover fully. Hemorrhagic strokes, although much rarer than the ischemic variety, are much more likely to kill or to leave their victims handicapped–he may never recover full function even with rehab therapy (which will be necessary and intensive) and he may have seizures, weakness, speech problems, or even personality changes depending on what part of the brain was damaged by the bleed. However, his chances of a good recovery are much, much better than they would have been even a decade or two ago, and he’s in very good hands.

    (FYI, I’m a medical editor, not a doctor, but I worked for neurosurgeons for 10 years and watched my grandmother go through this, which should qualify me at least as a well-informed layperson.)

    There. That’s probably much more information than you wanted, bubba!

  • When this first hit the news, I must admit I had conspiracy theory thoughts – Rove’s strategy for keeping the Senate was to kill off Democratic Senators in states with Republican Governors. Six years ago I would have laughed at the CT, but the Bushies have trained me to think outside of the box of reality….

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