Prayers For Harry Reid

CQ will add the Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), to our prayer list this evening. The Democratic caucus leader suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a type of mini-stroke which usually leaves no permanent damage:

The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, suffered a brief mini-stroke Tuesday but suffered no complications and feels fine, aides said Friday.
The 65-year-old minority leader, one of the Democratic party’s most visible national leaders, was examined by doctors and now feels fine, his press secretary Tessa Hafen said.
“There are no complications or any restrictions on his activities. He has undergone evaluations this week, and his doctors have recommended that he take advantage of the summer congressional recess for some downtime,” Hafen said.

All partisan politics aside, I understand what Senator Reid’s family must be feeling tonight. A week before the First Mate’s kidney transplant, she suffered a TIA — actually, a short series of them — and wound up hospitalized for a couple of days for observation. We went to Toys ‘R Us to shop for the Little Admiral’s second birthday party when it first happened. The left side of her face would not respond and she had slurred speech for quite a while. Luckily for us, the hospital was right around the corner. I have gone through a number of medical emergencies with the First Mate, but that was one of the most frightening.
I’m glad to hear that Senator Reid has been released by his doctors to go home. Most people who experience a TIA have no further complications, and of course we hope and pray that Senator Reid will be among that group. His overall excellent health will probably boost the chances for that. (For those wishing to find out more about TIAs, this site has good information for the layman.)