Ailing Senator Responsive To Touch

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson lay in critical condition but was described as recovering Thursday after emergency overnight surgery to repair bleeding inside his brain. His illness raised questions over whether the Democrats would hold their newly won control of the Senate.

The South Dakota lawmaker, 59, was on "an uncomplicated post-operative course," the U.S. Capitol physician said after visiting him Thursday afternoon. Johnson suffered a hemorrhage in his brain caused by a rare and sometimes fatal condition.

"He has been appropriately responsive to both word and touch. No further surgical intervention has been required," said the physician, Adm. John Eisold. He had said earlier, "The senator is recovering without complication."

Without more details, it is impossible to speculate on Johnson's prognosis, but CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports that, in general, patients with Johnson's condition can make a complete and total recovery.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he had visited Johnson in the hospital Thursday morning and that he was confident of a full recovery. "To me he looked very good," Reid said.

Johnson was stricken as Democrats prepared to take fragile 51-49 control of the new Senate when it convenes in three weeks. Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress from Republicans in November midterm elections.

If Johnson were to leave office, a replacement would be named by South Dakota's Republican governor, Mike Rounds. A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because Vice President Dick Cheney holds the tie-breaking vote.

One Republican told CBS News correspondent Gloria Borger, "This is not the way we want to win back the Senate."

Asked about whether Democratic control of the Senate might be jeopardized, Reid said, "There isn't a thing that's changed."

Johnson was rushed to the George Washington University Hospital at midday Wednesday after becoming disoriented and stammering during a conference call with reporters.

On Thursday, Johnson underwent an additional procedure to check for blood clots. The procedure is standard after surgery, said Julianne Fisher, Johnson's spokeswoman. Otherwise, she said, there were no new developments. "No news is good news," she said.

Dr. Keith Siller, medical director of New York University's Stroke Care Center, told CBS News that Johnson's recovery could range from weeks to months.

Johnson's condition, also known as AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst. The condition is often present from birth.

Johnson spokesman Noah Pinegar said the senator's diagnosis was a surprise. "No one was aware of it, including Tim," he said.

Reid, the Democrat who is to become majority leader when the new Senate convenes on Jan. 4, said, "We're all praying for a full recovery. We're confident that will be the case."

However, Reid declined to provide any details of Johnson's medical condition.

"The Republicans selected their committees yesterday. We've completed ours," Reid said. He said he was keeping incoming Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell "totally advised" of developments.

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist visited the hospital Thursday.

Senate historian Donald Ritchie said senators serve out their terms unless they resign or die. He said there was precedent for senators remaining in the Senate even though illness kept them away from the chamber for long periods.

Just this year, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat, missed three months of votes because of back surgery. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Democrat, was away for seven months in 1988 after undergoing surgery for brain aneurysms.

In 1969, another South Dakota senator, Karl Mundt, a Republican, suffered a stroke while in office. Mundt continued to serve until the end of his term in January 1973, although he was unable to attend Senate sessions and was stripped of his committee assignments by fellow Republicans in 1972.

The White House offered best wishes.

"Our prayers are with Senator Johnson," said White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. "Look, he's a great guy, and it's one of these things where everybody's concerned and our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, his staff, his colleagues."

Johnson, who turns 60 in two weeks, was taken to the hospital by ambulance after experiencing what his office initially said was a possible stroke.

Arteriovenous malformation is believed to affect about 300,000 Americans, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The institute's Web site said only about 12 percent of those have any symptoms. The symptoms, which range in severity, can include severe headaches, memory loss and dizziness.

It's common to take several days for someone to wake up after AVM surgery, said Dr. Sean Grady, neurosurgery chairman at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Someone who is awake and alert and talking in the first day or two typically has a shorter recovery — in the range of 4 to 8 weeks, he said. If it takes longer to wake up, it in turn takes more months to recover.

The senator's wife, Barbara Johnson, said the family "is encouraged and optimistic."

In South Dakota, gubernatorial press secretary Mark Johnston said Thursday that Rounds had nothing new to say. "We're watching as much as everyone else," he said.

The governor, elected to a second four-year term last month, has been widely seen as the Republican candidate with the best chance to challenge Johnson in two years.

Johnson was first elected in 1996 and is up for re-election in 2008.

The last time the Senate convened with a perfect balance of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats was in January 2001. Then, the two parties struck a power-sharing agreement that gave control of the Senate to Republicans but gave Democrats equal representation on committees.

That arrangement lasted only until June 2001, when Vermont Republican James Jeffords became an independent who chose to vote with Democrats on organizational matters, giving Democrats control until Republicans won back the Senate in the 2002 midterm elections.