Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-IL) stroke in January has staged a rough road for the lawmaker’s recovery, but Kirk released a video today affirming to his constituents that he intends to “fight for the people of Illinois” as soon as possible.
In the video, Kirk explains that he has learned to walk again, and talks of a study in which he is involved at the rehabilitation institute where he is being treated. He says:
“I’m currently enrolled in a walking study for stroke patients… It’s described as an intensive program. One of the more interesting set-ups they had was a set of wraps around my legs with silver balls to be all recorded so a stick figure could be generated on the computer.”
Kirk jokes about the rigors of therapy and the paces through which he has been placed to recover and participate in the study. The junior senator from Illinois describes the treatment, saying:
“They have some devious ways of making things more difficult. Yesterday, I was wearing a 10-pound weight. It was described as being the weight of a baby on your ankle, which really does slow you down.”
While Senator Kirk’s ability to speak and his range of motion are clearly affected in the two-plus minute long clip, he explains to viewers that in addition to his recovery, he is focused on his return to the Senate floor and hopes to achieve that end as quickly as possible. After saying that the “45 steps that [his] staff counted from the parking lot to the Senate front door to fight for the people of Illinois” are the most important to him, Kirk adds at the end:
“I want to thank everyone especially for the patience they have given me to recover from a big stroke. I want to thank the people of Illinois for granting me the honor to represent them in the Senate. I can’t wait to go back to work to vote to tax less, borrow less, and spend less to fix our economy.”
Doctors say that Sen. Kirk may experience some permanent paralysis following the serious stroke.
