Massachusetts
senator Edward Kennedy suffered a seizure at a
200-person luncheon honoring President Barack Obama.
Paramedics arrived at the scene and escorted him out
of the room.
According to Fox
News, Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of fellow
Massachusetts senator John Kerry, helped Kennedy into a
reclining chair. Last summer the senator was diagnosed
with a brain tumor. Reverend Daniel Coughlin, who gave
the benediction at the end of the luncheon, said
Kennedy responded well to treatment and is being taken to
the hospital.
Obama said, "I
would be lying to you if I did not say that right now
a part of me is with him. And I think that's true for all of
us. This is a joyous time. But it's also a sobering
time. And my prayers are with him and his family and
[Kennedy's wife] Vicki."
Meanwhile, West
Virginia senator Robert Byrd, 91, was also removed from
the luncheon. The Los Angeles Times reports
thatthe Senate's
longest-serving member was so overwhelmed by the
scene that he asked to be removed by wheelchair.
Byrd's frail health lead some reporters to believe
that he was also ailing physically.
The event, which
ended at about 3 p.m. EST, took place at Sanctuary Hall
in the U.S. Capitol. (Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)