Fogbow

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hopeful sign for Democrats, Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate in a wheelchair Wednesday after a months-long absence due to a lingering bout of shingles that has affected her vision and balance, looking frail but happy and planning to follow her doctor’s advice to work a reduced schedule.

Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest sitting member at 89, said in her first statement since her Tuesday flight back to the Capitol that she’s “prepared to resume my duties in the Senate” and is “grateful for all the well-wishers over the past couple of months and for the excellent care that I received from my medical team in San Francisco.”



Her return to action will be key on Thursday, when the Judiciary Committee will again consider nominees to the federal bench, including three — Charnelle Bjelkengren, S. Kato Crews and Marian F. Gaston — who have not advanced due to Republican opposition. Feinstein’s vote could provide the majority to move them out of committee to the Senate floor.



In her most detailed comments yet on her affliction, Feinstein said she is experiencing vision and balance impairments, and that at times she may require the use of a wheelchair to travel around the Capitol.

bob wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 1:46 pm The governor names someone to fill in until the next election.

Then there's a special election for the remainder of the term.

My dark horse candidate for whom Newsom would nominate:

► Show Spoiler

Newsom.

somerset wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 8:28 pm Feinstein returns to Senate in a wheelchair, offers new details of lingering illness

https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/10/ ... gaseonurim
(gift link)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hopeful sign for Democrats, Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate in a wheelchair Wednesday after a months-long absence due to a lingering bout of shingles that has affected her vision and balance, looking frail but happy and planning to follow her doctor’s advice to work a reduced schedule.

Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest sitting member at 89, said in her first statement since her Tuesday flight back to the Capitol that she’s “prepared to resume my duties in the Senate” and is “grateful for all the well-wishers over the past couple of months and for the excellent care that I received from my medical team in San Francisco.”



Her return to action will be key on Thursday, when the Judiciary Committee will again consider nominees to the federal bench, including three — Charnelle Bjelkengren, S. Kato Crews and Marian F. Gaston — who have not advanced due to Republican opposition. Feinstein’s vote could provide the majority to move them out of committee to the Senate floor.



In her most detailed comments yet on her affliction, Feinstein said she is experiencing vision and balance impairments, and that at times she may require the use of a wheelchair to travel around the Capitol.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm not buying shingles.

Kendra wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:07 pm Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:15 pm What would you think if he nominated Phil Angelides?

p0rtia wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:23 pm I think I heard somewhere that even if DF resigned, and a replacement was appointed, they would still have to get through a Senate filibuster to seat someone on the Juciary Comm. IOW, they can't get it done. Only hope is to stick with DiFi.

somerset wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:39 pm

Kendra wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:07 pm Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

From the photos, she reminds me of stroke patients I've seen. Maybe shingles has the same effect?

Shingles symptoms usually affect only a small section on one side of your body. These symptoms may include:

Pain, burning or tingling
Sensitivity to touch
A red rash that begins a few days after the pain
Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over
Itching

Some people also experience:

Fever
Headache
Sensitivity to light
Fatigue

Suranis wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:59 pm

somerset wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:39 pm

Kendra wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 9:07 pm Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

From the photos, she reminds me of stroke patients I've seen. Maybe shingles has the same effect?

Not really. The effect is intense pain, and a blister filled rash. It's bloody horrible. My sister has had it 3 times as she is has an immunodeficiency condition. She has had Covid 3 times as well.

But does it cause mobility problems and paralysis similar to a stroke? Not that I have ever heard of.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20353054

Shingles symptoms usually affect only a small section on one side of your body. These symptoms may include:

Pain, burning or tingling
Sensitivity to touch
A red rash that begins a few days after the pain
Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over
Itching

Some people also experience:

Fever
Headache
Sensitivity to light
Fatigue

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 7:14 am All I know is people suffer various degrees of shingles, from painfully annoying to Jeez, just kill me now.

neonzx wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 11:44 am RETIRE. Enjoy the remainder of the golden years. Damn. Step aside. What is she clinging to?

RVInit wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 12:10 pm old geezers that simply hold on to power way beyond their due date and risk their place being taken over by a right wing nut job. Which has happened already in some cases.

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 5:38 pm

RVInit wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 12:10 pm old geezers that simply hold on to power way beyond their due date and risk their place being taken over by a right wing nut job. Which has happened already in some cases.

I don't blame Ginsberg, I blame the cult that formed around her over the decades that convinced a woman with pancreatic cancer to cling on to her seat instead of retiring when Obama could have placed her hand picked successor into that seat...

A Brief, Concerning Conversation with Dianne Feinstein
The senator seems to not remember being absent from the Capitol.

“Oh, you’re an eager one,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said as the elevator door opened and she saw me on Tuesday afternoon.

The senior California senator had just voted, after returning to the Senate last week after an extended absence following a case of shingles. The 89-year-old Feinstein, whose physical and mental capacity has deteriorated in recent years, and whose ability to continue serving in the Senate has come under question, is working an admittedly “lighter schedule” under doctors’ advice. She has, though, voted both days this week. On Tuesday afternoon, a male staffer escorted her on his arm to vote against a Republican bill to block a District of Columbia policing law. She was on and off the floor in an instant—but on her own two feet.

When the fellow reporter asked her what the response from her colleagues had been like since her return, though, the conversation took an odd turn.

“No, I haven’t been gone,” she said.

Okay.

“You should follow the—I haven’t been gone, I’ve been working.”

When asked whether she meant that she’d been working from home, she turned feisty.

“No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” she said. “Please, you either know or don’t know.”

After deflecting one final question about those, like Rep. Ro Khanna, who’ve called on her to resign, she was wheeled away.

When she arrived at the Capitol last week after a more than two-month absence recovering from shingles, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, 89, appeared shockingly diminished.

Using a wheelchair, with the left side of her face frozen and one eye nearly shut, she seemed disoriented as an aide steered her through the marble corridors of the Senate, complaining audibly that something was stuck in her eye.

Ms. Feinstein’s frail appearance was a result of several complications after she was hospitalized for shingles in February, some of which she has not publicly disclosed. The shingles spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The virus also brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating complication of shingles, according to two people familiar with the senator’s diagnosis who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it.

Characterized by swelling of the brain, post-shingles encephalitis can leave patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulties walking. Older patients tend to have the most trouble recovering. And even before this latest illness, Ms. Feinstein had already suffered substantial memory issues that had raised questions about her mental capacity.

But the senator’s condition and the political drama surrounding her fate has drawn so much scrutiny that even the presence of one of her closest friends during her convalescence has drawn speculation. Some have read Ms. Prowda’s involvement as a tacit endorsement by Ms. Pelosi of Ms. Feinstein’s decision to stay on, reasoning that it could give Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and Ms. Pelosi’s chosen candidate in the crowded race to replace Ms. Feinstein in 2024, a leg up. Mr. Newsom has committed to appointing a Black woman to the seat should it become vacant.

Mr. Newsom has committed to appointing a Black woman to the seat should it become vacant.