Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
New Mexico Sen.Ben Ray Lujánsays his recovery from a January stroke that nearly killed him has been “miraculous.”
“I feel like I’ve come back stronger,” Luján, 49,toldThe New York Timesin a story published Thursday, adding a joke about losing a bit of weight while recuperating. “I fit into my clothing better.”
On the morning of Jan. 27, Luján got out of bed and immediately knew something was wrong. “As soon as I stood up, it felt like vertigo,” he said in the interview.
He returned to bed for a spell but when he got back up, the dizziness hadn’t subsided. His chief of staff urged him to call his doctor, who instructed Luján to head to the emergency room.
“I need your strength,” he told Jackie, according to theTimesstory. She found a broomstick for him to use as a support.
“You could see the fear in her eyes,” Luján said. “I still remember that.”
After the senator was transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque for further evaluation, heunderwent decompressive surgeryto ease swelling in his brain, which typically involves removing a piece of the patient’s skull to relieve pressure on the brain.
Luján now has a scar on the back of his head where a silver dollar-sized piece of skull was removed, reports theTimes.
Getting back to work meant that Luján needed rehabilitation, and he worked with a physical therapist who coached him on balance and mobility.
Though he said he felt frustrated at times during the therapy, he recovered relatively quickly.
Luján still has a tingling sensation in his right hand, but his speech is quick and fluid, according to theTimes.
The senator believes prayer, the power of positive thinking, the medical care he received, and the support of family, friends and colleagues contributed to his “miraculous” recovery.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
“Every one of us goes through challenges. We all have nightmares. Something bad can happen in our life,” the senator said.
There is never a good time to go through what Sen. Luján, a Democrat, experienced but the timing of the stroke could have had political consequences.
“This came out of the blue,” he said. “I did not have early warning signs. I was pretty physically active.”
Had he been absent for the full Senate vote on PresidentJoe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, JudgeKetanji Brown Jackson, herhistoric confirmationcould have been in jeopardy because of the Democrats' super-slim majority.
“I need to get out of here,” Luján said he was thinking during his recovery as the vote approached. “I need to be able to cast that vote, because in my head, I was the one that was going to prevent this from happening. And you didn’t want that on your shoulders, right? That was bad for the country.”
Jackson, though, earned thesupport of three Republicansso it wasn’t an issue for Luján or his party. But the New Mexican senator said he was “very proud” to be back at work in time to helpconfirm Jackson on April 7.
And though Jackson’s hearings were at times typically bitter, Luján said some of his Republican colleagues were kind to him while he was away from the Senate.
Now that he’s back to work, not only does he feel stronger — he’s got a sense of renewed determination. “Having survived this, I know that there’s a lot of work I still have to do,” he said. “And I plan to do it.”
source: people.com
