Senator Edward M. Kennedy suffered a bout of kidney stones Monday, and his niece Caroline Kennedy said yesterday that he was feeling so ill he was nearly unable to deliver his dramatic address that night to the Democratic National Convention.
An aide to the senator said the 76-year-old lawmaker had kidney stones unrelated to the brain tumor that was diagnosed in May. Kennedy was treated at a Denver hospital for the kidney condition during the day Monday after suffering a sleepless night and pain in the morning, said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But Kennedy was determined to deliver the speech that he had practiced in Cape Cod while he was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the cancer, Caroline Kennedy said in an interview with the Globe.
"There was nothing that was going to keep him away," she said. She did not detail her uncle's ailment.
An aide to the senator said the 76-year-old lawmaker had kidney stones unrelated to the brain tumor that was diagnosed in May. Kennedy was treated at a Denver hospital for the kidney condition during the day Monday after suffering a sleepless night and pain in the morning, said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But Kennedy was determined to deliver the speech that he had practiced in Cape Cod while he was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the cancer, Caroline Kennedy said in an interview with the Globe.
"There was nothing that was going to keep him away," she said. She did not detail her uncle's ailment.
During his speech, an intravenous tube, which would have been used for administering pain medication, could be seen poking out from under an ace bandage wrapping Kennedy's left hand.
Kennedy was better yesterday, aides said, and he was able to host a breakfast for friends and members of the Massachusetts delegation before returning to the Bay State.
The cancer treatment, Caroline Kennedy said, is "going better than anyone expected," and the Democratic stalwart is determined to return to the Senate chamber where he has served for nearly 46 years. "I know he's planning on going back to work," she said.
"He looks great. You could see it [Monday] night," she said, referring to the senator's surprise appearance on behalf of Democratic nominee-to-be Barack Obama.
(...) But by the next day, Kennedy "just wasn't feeling well," and "there was a second round [of discussion] about, 'Is he going to be able to do it?' " Caroline Kennedy said. Another Kennedy associate said it was "touch and go" even shortly before the senator's prime-time speech as to whether he would have the strength to deliver the rousing sort of address that is so characteristic of him.
But Caroline Kennedy said her uncle was determined to follow through despite concerns of his friends and family. "He knew it all along. There was no way he was not going to do it," she said.
(...) "On many levels, it was a very difficult thing to do - logistically, medically, emotionally," his niece said. "It was really inspiring to all of us."
Kennedy is continuing treatment for the cancer, but no longer needs to make the daily trips to Boston for the intense sessions that followed his surgery, Caroline Kennedy said. Patients with a brain tumor like Kennedy's typically receive six weeks of daily radiation therapy, and then continue with an oral form of chemotherapy for up to six months.
At the breakfast, Kennedy thanked friends and colleagues for their love and support. He looked "relaxed," she said, and was "joking around, kidding around."
(...) "I think the only thing that matches [Monday's speech] was the feeling I got when he walked on the Senate floor to cast the deciding vote for Medicare," Kennedy's son, Rhode Island Democratic Representative Patrick Kennedy, said after the address.
(...) Caroline Kennedy - who was on the team that selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as Obama's running mate - said the search was extremely emotional for her, since so many people she talked to during the effort wanted to tell stories about her uncle.
"People wanted to talk about how he was the first one to call them when they lost a family member," or extended another kindness, she said. "It was really on a whole other level for me, of being able to see his effect and his reach, his impact on the Senate."
Kennedy was better yesterday, aides said, and he was able to host a breakfast for friends and members of the Massachusetts delegation before returning to the Bay State.
The cancer treatment, Caroline Kennedy said, is "going better than anyone expected," and the Democratic stalwart is determined to return to the Senate chamber where he has served for nearly 46 years. "I know he's planning on going back to work," she said.
"He looks great. You could see it [Monday] night," she said, referring to the senator's surprise appearance on behalf of Democratic nominee-to-be Barack Obama.
(...) But by the next day, Kennedy "just wasn't feeling well," and "there was a second round [of discussion] about, 'Is he going to be able to do it?' " Caroline Kennedy said. Another Kennedy associate said it was "touch and go" even shortly before the senator's prime-time speech as to whether he would have the strength to deliver the rousing sort of address that is so characteristic of him.
But Caroline Kennedy said her uncle was determined to follow through despite concerns of his friends and family. "He knew it all along. There was no way he was not going to do it," she said.
(...) "On many levels, it was a very difficult thing to do - logistically, medically, emotionally," his niece said. "It was really inspiring to all of us."
Kennedy is continuing treatment for the cancer, but no longer needs to make the daily trips to Boston for the intense sessions that followed his surgery, Caroline Kennedy said. Patients with a brain tumor like Kennedy's typically receive six weeks of daily radiation therapy, and then continue with an oral form of chemotherapy for up to six months.
At the breakfast, Kennedy thanked friends and colleagues for their love and support. He looked "relaxed," she said, and was "joking around, kidding around."
(...) "I think the only thing that matches [Monday's speech] was the feeling I got when he walked on the Senate floor to cast the deciding vote for Medicare," Kennedy's son, Rhode Island Democratic Representative Patrick Kennedy, said after the address.
(...) Caroline Kennedy - who was on the team that selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as Obama's running mate - said the search was extremely emotional for her, since so many people she talked to during the effort wanted to tell stories about her uncle.
"People wanted to talk about how he was the first one to call them when they lost a family member," or extended another kindness, she said. "It was really on a whole other level for me, of being able to see his effect and his reach, his impact on the Senate."
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