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Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (born February 22, 1932) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. In office since November 1962, Kennedy is the second-longest serving member of the Senate, after President pro tempore of the United States Senate Robert Byrd of West Virginia. The most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, he is the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated, the former on November 22, 1963, the latter on June 5, 1968. He is also the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
Ted Kennedy is a staunch advocate of liberal principles, and is one of the most influential and enduring icons of his party.
Ted Kennedy hospitalized after suffering seizures
Senator Edward M. Kennedy was rushed from his Hyannisport home to Massachusetts General Hospital this morning after an apparent seizure. One government official said the 76-year-old senator suffered a second seizure aboard a helicopter transport flight from the Cape to Boston.
Kennedy�s Senate office released a written statement just after 2 p.m. today offering the first official confirmation, saying, "It appears that Senator Kennedy experienced a seizure this morning. He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure. Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours."
As Kennedy was being treated by doctors this afternoon, friends and family flocked to the hospital. Kennedy�s son, Edward Jr., arrived about 1 p.m., slipping quietly through a side door by Storrow Drive, away from the maze of television cameras and reporters in the hospital�s front drive. Kennedy's daughter, Kara, arrived at about 2:10, followed shortly thereafter by Joseph P. Kennedy II, a former Congressman and Kennedy's nephew, who was accompanied by his wife, Beth. Senator John Kerry also came to visit, declining comment as he walked through the front doors.
Hyannis fire officials were called to the storied Kennedy compound at about 8:19 a.m. The senator, who was stricken by what officials first believed were stroke-like symptoms, was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital. From there, he was taken to the Barnstable Municipal Airport, where he was placed on a MedFlight helicopter and flown to a landing pad at Mass General, according to local fire department Lieutenant Bill Rex.
The Cape Cod Times published a photograph of Kennedy, strapped to a gurney, being carried onto the chopper by paramedics.
Kennedy, arguably the best known member of the United States Senate, an icon to those on the left, a scourge to conservatives nationwide, was first elected in 1962 to fill the seat left open when his brother, John F. Kennedy, was elected president. He made an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1980, losing the Democratic nomination to incumbent President Jimmy Carter.
This marks the second time in seven months that the 76-year-old senator has been treated at Mass General. In October, doctors performed surgery to clean out a partially blocked neck artery that they said put him at risk of a stroke. The chief of vascular surgery at the hospital described it at the time as �routine, uneventful, and successful,� and days afterward, Kennedy friends were privately laughing over how quickly the senator demanded his release. He spent most of his convalescence in Hyannisport.
Today�s episode came as the Kennedy family was involved in a charity bicycle ride that began at the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester earlier today, and was scheduled to conclude in Hyannisport with a concert and lobster bake.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick who, according to his public schedule, was in the Berkshires this weekend, released a statement this afternoon saying, �The senator, Mrs. Kennedy, and their whole family are in our thoughts and prayers. Diane (Patrick) and I are sending good wishes and hoping for the senator�s speedy recovery."
At Mass General, police guarded all doors and corralled reporters about 100 feet from the front entrance.
In October, doctors described the extent of the buildup in Kennedy�s artery as "a very high-grade blockage" and said there was a slight chance it could recur in the next few years.
Kennedy's doctors said at the time the blockage found in his left carotid artery could have triggered a stroke by choking off blood flow and preventing oxygen from getting to the brain, or by breaking off and lodging in the brain.
About one-quarter of strokes are due to carotid artery disease. Carotid artery surgery is typically performed on patients who have had a stroke or have an artery that is at least 70 percent blocked.
Kennedy felt no symptoms from the blockage, which was discovered from a routine MRI conducted to check on his spine, which was injured in a 1964 plane crash.
Patients with a neck artery blockage may have similar buildups of fat and cholesterol in other blood vessels, but Kennedy's doctors said there was no need for any treatment on his right carotid artery, and said he had passed a cardiac stress test prior to the surgery.
At the time, his personal physician deemed his overall health excellent and said he exercised daily and ate well. After a short period of rest, Kennedy returned to the Senate floor Oct. 30.
Before the surgery, Kennedy's only serious hospitalization is believed to have been after the crash of a small private plane more than 40 years ago. Kennedy suffered several fractured back bones, broken ribs, and internal bleeding in the crash, which killed two people.
A seizure is an electrical disturbance in the brain that usually lasts no longer than a couple minutes, and it can have multiple causes, including a fever, infection, dehydration, a stroke, a tumor or an old head injury.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, beginning a tour of hospitals in Eugene, Ore., told reporters that he had been in touch with the senator's family. "Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He's done more for health care than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."
Kennedy gave Obama's presidential campaign a big boost this year with his endorsement and has campaigned actively for the Illinois senator.
Senator Hillary Clinton issued a statement, saying, �My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery.�
Kennedy is also on good terms with the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, who said he was awaiting word on Kennedy�s condition.
"Senator Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner."
Senator Kerry said in a statement that "Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki and all of his family and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life's work has touched millions upon millions of lives."
The youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Kennedy is the last surviving brother of the family's legendary political dynasty. Since his election to the Senate in 1962 to finish the final two years of his brother's term, he has been reelected to eight full terms, and is now the second most senior member of the Senate.
Twice married, Kennedy has three children � Kara, Edward, and Patrick J. Kennedy, a Rhode Island Congressman, and two stepchildren, Curran and Caroline Raclin.
Kennedy has two surviving sisters, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Jean Kennedy Smith. Two other sisters, Rosemary Kennedy and Patricia Kennedy Lawford, died within the past three years.
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