Byrd admitted to hospital

Posted: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:05 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: Congress, Kelly O'Donnell

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Senior aides to the Sen. Robert Byrd say the senator "has been admitted to the hospital and is expected to remain there for a few days."

Byrd was taken to the hospital this morning as a precautionary measure following a fall at his home which aides say "was likely caused by standing up too quickly."

While having no broken bones or bruises, upon examination, doctors found an elevated white-blood cell count which can be an early sign of an infection. Therefore, his doctors have determined that Byrd should remain in the hospital for antibiotic treatment and observation.

Aides say, "Senator Byrd is in good spirits and expressed his disappointment that he was unable to join all his Senate colleagues this afternoon for the biennial Senate photo."

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Comments

Standing up to quickly? Standing up!!!

The old man needs to retire or West Virginia could be in the same boat Massachusettes is in right now. I just hope he can hang in there until the health care insurance improvement bill is passed.

eagle1776 (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:12 PM)

So sorry Sen. Byrd. Ninety-one years old...is old Senator Byrd. You should consider an appointment to serve the term of your seat out. Ninety-one...

Anita, Birmingham, Alabama (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:15 PM)

Good Luck and Good Health Senator Byrd! Recover quickly as we need your vote in the Senate for health care reform with the public option.

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:24 PM)

As with Thurmond -- Byrd, you need to let this one go, buddy. If you can't stand up on your own as a senator, then you should see that your time's up.

Greg in WA (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:30 PM)

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Senator Byrd. He has served his state and country well and like many old timers, he just doesn't want to give up what he loves, the Senate. Unfortunately, there comes a time when they should.

Read an earlier comment about Clinton's attempt to reform health care and that we survived. No, we postponed fixing what Clinton saw as a probable drain on our economy. Now, we are in a near crisis. I've said it before, there will come a time sooner than we think when employers can no longer afford to provide health insurance and remain competitive. If the GOP has its way, we'll just wait until the crisis hits rather than fix the problem first. The GOP's answer to everything is simply wait; they'd wait to put oil in a car until it runs dry meanwhile the engine blows up.

Jody, Iowa (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:47 PM)

While I certainly do not wish Byrd ill, it certainly is time for him to leave that Senate seat!

Standing up made him fall? Yikes...what's the point!

Pass HCR with a Public Option, Now...then we ALL can expect to receive the same level of care no matter what our age!

Ed, San Antonio (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 4:01 PM)

There should be an age limit on any public official. Like 67. Then they retire. I've seen Byrd slur his words so many times. Time for him to quit. No more old politicians.

Jim Martin Circleville, Ohio (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 4:01 PM)

Get well soon and I hope the fools who say you're too old get to live long enough to resent the idea of children telling them they are no longer useful and should step aside...

Bing Censored? (Sent Tuesday, September 22, 2009 4:08 PM)

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