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According to the treating physician to the United States Congress, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is “medically cleared” to continue working. The remarks come a day after the Kentucky Republican froze during a news conference for the second time this summer.
“Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” Dr. Brian Monahan said in a letter shared Thursday from McConnell’s office.
The doctor was referring to a concussion that McConnell, 81, had suffered in March after a fall at a political fundraising event.
Monahan said he “consulted with Lead McConnell and consulted with his neurology team” and gave it the go-ahead after “assessing yesterday’s incident.”
That incident came at the start of a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Covington, Kentucky, when McConnell He stopped talking abruptly and stared straight ahead for about 30 seconds.
But Monahan said in Thursday’s letter that he “informed Leader McConnell that He is medically cleared to continue his schedule as planned.”
The doctor’s assessment was endorsed later Thursday by President Joe Biden, who said McConnell sounded like “his old self” when he called him on the phone. “It’s not unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch, when he’s had a severe concussion,” Biden said during a surprise visit to FEMA headquarters.
May be due to traumatic brain injury
Since McConnell had a concussion, it is likely a traumatic brain injury is a sudden injury that causes damage to the brain. According to Medline Plus, this can occur from a blow, impact, or jolt to the head.
“This is a closed head injury. It can also occur when an object enters the skull, which is known as a penetrating injury, ”they explain on his website.
Symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury can include:
- Brief loss of consciousness in some cases. However, many people with mild traumatic brain injury remain conscious after the injury.
- Headache
- Confusion
- Daze
- dizziness
- Blurry vision or tired eyes
- Ringing in the ears
- bad taste in the mouth
- Fatigue or lethargy
- Change in sleep patterns
- Behavior or mood changes
- Problems with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking
Speaking to Newsweek, Peter Silburn, co-director of the Queensland Brain Institute’s Asia-Pacific Center for Neuromodulation, stated that this type of freezing, i.e. speech stopping, sudden onset staring into space and non-response, can be seen in complex partial seizures in epilepsy, transient ischemic attacks (also known as TIAs or mini strokes), psychological problems and fugues, anxiety states and panic disorders.
Keep reading:
• Mitch McConnell freezes again while trying to respond to several journalists in Kentucky
• Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to take over from Mitch McConnell after his second freeze
• McConnell says he plans to serve out his term as leader despite concerns about his health