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Coleman Diagnosed With Bell’s Palsy
St. Paul, MN (AHN) – Former Sen. Norm Coleman has been diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a facial paralysis that is typically temporary and caused by still unknown factors.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Coleman first noticed a problem last week when he drank water and it dribbled down his face. The 60-year-old Republican is taking medication for the condition and has to put tape on one eye when he goes to sleep.
Coleman also speaks about his illness on bringmethenews.com, where video captures him speaking only from one side of his face. “It puts a lot of things in perspective – my smile is a part of me,” he says.
A former Democrat, Coleman lost his bid for a second term in Congress late June, when the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sen. Al Franken in the state’s closest and most contentious Senate race. Around the same time, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced that he would not seek a third term in 2010, and Coleman was reported as a potential gubernatorial candidate.
Coleman, who served as mayor of St. Paul, was ahead of Franken on election night last year by only 215 votes, or less than one -half of one percent, triggering a statewide recount.
Before the state Supreme Court’s decision, a three-judge panel had ruled in April to uphold the recount results that had Franken winning by 225 votes. Franken’s lead also grew to 312 votes during the seven-week trial leading up to the ruling because wrongly rejected absentee ballots were reviewed.
Coleman’s defeat had given Democrats in the Senate a 60–vote majority that could block Republican filibusters. Franken was sworn into office on July 7.
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