Mitch McConnell moved to rehab facility for further treatment following concussion

US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was released from hospital Monday after treatment for a concussion and will continue his recovery at an inpatient rehabilitation facility, a spokesman said.

McConnell’s office said doctors discovered over the weekend that he also suffered “small rib fractures” after he tripped and fell at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington on Wednesday evening.

“Leader McConnell’s concussion recovery is progressing well and the leader was released from the hospital today,” McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement.

“On the doctor’s advice, the next step is a period of physical therapy at an inpatient rehabilitation facility before going home.”

The Senate returns to Washington Tuesday evening after the weekend and will be in session for the rest of March.

Another health challenge

Concussions can be serious injuries and take time to recover from. Even one concussion can limit a person’s ability to recover.

In 2019, McConnell tripped and fell at his home in Kentucky, suffering a broken shoulder that required surgery. The Senate had just begun its summer break, and he was working at home for a few weeks while he recovered.

At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, McConnell opened up about his childhood experience fighting polio. He described how his mother insisted that he remain a child and worked with him through a prescribed physical therapy regime.

He has admitted some difficulties in adults climbing stairs.

First elected in 1984, McConnell in January became the longest-serving Senate leader when the new Congress convened, breaking the previous record of 16 years.

The hospital comes as Democratic President Joe Biden and Republicans, who control the House of Representatives after the midterm elections, remain locked in a deadlock over the US$31.4 trillion debt ceiling. A lack of progress in the talks has raised concerns about the possible consequences of the summer.

McConnell was one of the senators who did not attend due to illness or hospitalization.

Sen. John Fetterman, 53, who suffered a stroke during the campaign last year, is expected to stay out for several weeks because he received treatment for clinical depression. And Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 89, last week, she was admitted to the hospital to be treated for herpes.