(NewsWorthy.news) – A Democratic representative from New Jersey recently experienced a “cardiac episode” and has been in the hospital for more than a week.
65-year-old Rep. Donald Payne Jr. suffered a health emergency last week, due to “complications from his diabetes,” according to an April 17 statement from his office. On that day, his team reported that he was “in stable condition” but remained hospitalized, and they asked for prayers for his “full recovery.”
The latest update on Payne’s health—which expressed “hope” rather than confidence of him making a “full recovery”—came after a simpler, more reassuring statement shortly after the incident occurred. In these public comments, the lawmaker’s office described his prognosis as “good” and expressed confidence he would return to full health.
However, the release that emphasized “hope” in his recovery came shortly after a report that Payne’s incident was a heart attack, which happened on April 6. He had reportedly not been conscious since the incident. Additionally, the article from the New Jersey Globe shared that the representative had been admitted to the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center intensive care unit for 11 days.
Payne’s absence from Congress holds the potential to impact foreign aid bills that are a source of disagreement in the House, and which claim only a slight majority from Republicans.
Following the announcements of Payne’s poor health—first publicized by the New Jersey Globe on April 17 and not contradicted by the lawmaker’s office—fellow legislators took to social media to express sympathy and wishes for a full recovery.
New Jersey Rep. Donald Norcross, a fellow Democrat, said that Payne “means so much” to the Garden State and wished him a “swift recovery.” A former official with the Justice Department and current legal analyst, Anthony Coley, acknowledged that sharing health information about politicians “can be tough.”
He added that hiding these types of emergencies from the public is a “bad choice” while “candor” is “always the best” option. He also expressed “prayers” that Payne makes a “complete recovery.”
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