Chris Murphy discharged from hospital after stroke

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy is being discharged from the hospital on Friday after experiencing a stroke last weekend and will spend several weeks at a rehabilitation center before returning to work at the Capitol, according to a release from his office.

Murphy, the 53-year-old junior senator from Connecticut, was hospitalized last Saturday.

“I want to be direct with you, so here is my diagnosis,” Murphy said. “Last Saturday afternoon, I felt something was not right with my body and called 9-1-1 out of an abundance of caution, and I’m glad I did. I was diagnosed with a small bleed in the thalamus region of my brain,” Murphy said in a statement released on Friday afternoon.

“The doctors are very encouraged by the progress I’ve made so far. In order to take my recovery seriously and get back to work on the quickest timeline possible, I will be spending several weeks at a rehabilitation center after being discharged from the hospital today,” he continued.

Congress returns to Washington next week after a month-long recess. Murphy said he’ll miss votes as he recovers at a rehabilitation center and will work remotely.

“This has been a scary experience for me and my family, and I appreciate the continued respect for our privacy,” Murphy said. “As I’m working towards a full recovery, I am staying engaged with my team and colleagues remotely, and my staff continues to carry out our legislative priorities, serve constituents, and ensure the work of my office continues uninterrupted. I want to extend my deepest thanks to the excellent doctors and staff at Johns Hopkins who have treated me and cared for my family.”

His physician, Dr. Jose Suarez, the chief of neurosciences critical care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, also released a statement on his prognosis and said he’s expected to make a full recovery.

“Sen. Murphy experienced a small hemorrhagic stroke,” Suarez said. “He has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation.”

His office said Thursday that he’s making “remarkable progress,” but this is the first time since his hospitalization that they released details of his diagnosis.