Ted K Taking It Easy, Staying Away From Work

By DAVE WEDGE

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will stay away from work for at least a week – and possibly longer – while relatives, friends and colleagues eagerly await crucial lab tests they hope will pinpoint what caused a weekend seizure.

A Kennedy aide confirmed last night that the senator won’t return to his senatorial duties until next week at the earliest. Kennedy, 76, is recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital from a seizure and has undergone a battery of tests. Results are expected today.

The political icon had dinner in the hospital last night with his wife, Victoria, and two sons, Edward M. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.). The three kept the senator company all day at MGH, where an aide said Kennedy was “in good spirits” and “anxious” to get back to work.

But exactly when the senator can get back to his Capitol Hill power brokering depends largely on the test results. Victoria Kennedy’s father, Edmund Reggie, said the family is eagerly awaiting word on what caused the seizure and what treatment might be ahead.

“We heard from our daughter and she said they’re talking and just waiting on lab reports,” Reggie told the Herald last night. “Everybody wants those lab reports. They take so long. We want to know because something has to be causing that seizure.”

Reggie, a longtime political adviser to Kennedy and his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, added that his daughter is concerned but is “in good condition.”

“We just want to know what’s what,” he said. “We really want to know that it’s good. That’s what we really want.”

The state’s senior senator fielded a flurry of calls from his hospital bed, including one from President Bush, who told Victoria Kennedy “take care of my friend.” Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) also called in.

Gov. Deval Patrick spoke with Victoria Kennedy several times, including a call yesterday morning.

“Obviously, like everyone here and people across the Commonwealth and the country, I am concerned about the senator’s health and praying for a speedy recovery which by all accounts will be complete,” Patrick told reporters.

CAPTION: ON THE CASE: Edward M. Kennedy Jr., above, and Patrick Kennedy, left, arrive at Massachusetts General Hospital yesterday to visit their father. STAFF PHOTOS BY TED FITZGERALD

Originally published by By DAVE WEDGE.

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