Senator is eager to return

Boozman’s staff: Could be weeks

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. John Boozman is eager to get back to work at the U.S. Capitol, his staff says, but it may be several more weeks before he has recovered enough from surgery that repaired a tear in his aorta.

The 63-year-old Republican from Rogers underwent emergency heart surgery April 22 after being rushed to the emergency room in the early morning hours and diagnosed with an acute aortic dissection. He was released from the hospital within a week and has been recuperating at home, spokesman Patrick Creamer said.

"The way that he's feeling I know he's eager to get back," Creamer said. "The doctor's still kind of keeping him at bay."

Creamer said Boozman's family doesn't yet know when doctors will clear him to return.

"He is doing good, he is doing his cardio rehab, his hope is that he's going to be back to work in June," Creamer said.

A dissection is a tear in the inner wall of an aorta, the large blood vessel branching off the heart, according to the Mayo Clinic. The tear allows blood to flow into the lining of the aorta, which causes it to swell, or dissect. If the blood-filled channel ruptures through the outside aortic wall, it can be fatal.

The surgery commonly involves removing as much of the dissected aorta as possible, blocking blood from entering the aortic wall and rebuilding the aorta with a synthetic tube called a graft, according to the clinic.

Dr. Gareth Tobler, primary surgeon for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Cardiac Transplant Program, said patients normally take six to 12 weeks to recover enough from the surgery to return to work. The time range depends on age, health and how the patient's body reacts to the surgery.

"It's not really much different than most open heart surgery," he said. "Some people are just enthusiastic and healthy and bounce back quickly" while others take more time.

He said he tells patients to gradually increase activity, like they would when getting over a major illness.

"I try to get them out of the house and walking right after they get home and progressing toward normal activity at a reasonable pace," Tobler said.

Because the surgery involves breaking the breastbone and wiring it back together, heavy lifting is out of the question for a while, he said.

"About the worst thing somebody could do would be to do a push-up," Tobler said. "We don't want them to do any heavy work with their arms and their chest."

Once a patient recovers his strength, ongoing treatment includes monitoring blood pressure and routine CT scans, which use multiple X-ray images to get cross-sectional views of the body and make sure the tear hasn't worsened.

Tobler said the surgery doesn't replace or fix the entire aorta.

"The repair usually entails just replacing a small portion of aorta and the rest of the aorta is still torn. It stays in sort of a chronic torn state really for the rest of the patient's life and so we have to follow them up and watch them," he said. "Otherwise they can live a normal life."

No Senate rule requires senators to give up their seats if they have to be away from Washington for an extended period of time, staff members of the U.S. Senate parliamentarian's office said.

The tentative calendar for the U.S. Senate shows that the chamber will continue to meet leading up to the election, with members back in their districts the last week of May and the first week of July before the month-long August recess.

On Capitol Hill, officials are aware of Boozman's situation.

After nearly a month, the Senate secretary no longer pauses for a response after reading Boozman's name during roll call votes.

While some committees allow senators to vote by proxy without being present, a senator has to physically be in the chamber to cast a vote when items are before the full body. Senators also have to be present to file legislation.

Creamer said the senator is in limited contact with staff members about what is happening in Washington.

"He's been engaged with us on certain things. He hasn't been working out of his office [in Northwest Arkansas.] He's just been working from home," he said.

Creamer said the staff was initially in "uncharted waters."

"We're trying to find ways to carry out his wishes while he can't be here," Creamer said.

For example, last week Boozman participated in a committee hearing on how long veterans wait for medical treatment by having a colleague submit a letter to the Congressional Record on his behalf.

"We're kind of getting a feel for it. There's some logistical problems at times like getting the OK on things. We try not to do anything without clearing it with him first," Creamer said.

Ill senators have missed votes in the past. It is uncommon for a senator to resign for health reasons.

In 2012, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., suffered a stroke and missed an entire year of votes. In 2006, U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., missed votes after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Both have returned to the Capitol.

U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., voted on only select pieces of legislation during President Barack Obama's first term because he was terminally ill with a brain tumor. The late-U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., also missed dozens of votes in 2010 while he was ill.

Capitol Hill staff members offered help and well wishes soon after news broke of Boozman's emergency surgery, Creamer said.

"All of the other offices immediately reached out. Those that have been through similar situations have been very eager to help however they can if we need anything in terms of guidance or advice," Creamer said.

Kirk's staff reacted the way many people do when someone is sick, by sending food.

"They sent over a nice big drum of popcorn from Chicago," Creamer said.

Boozman is the state's second Republican U.S. senator since Reconstruction. He defeated U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat, in 2010 to secure the seat. He was first elected to the House in 2001 in a special election.

He is next up for election in 2016. Boozman, an optometrist, previously helped run an eye clinic in Rogers with his brother.

Metro on 05/19/2014

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