McConnell leaves rehab facility after concussion therapy – KGET 17

WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Saturday that he has been released from a rehabilitation facility where he was undergoing physical therapy for a concussion caused by a fall earlier this month.

The 81-year-old Republican from Kentucky said in a statement released by his office that he will work from home for the next few days. The Senate is scheduled to be in recess for the weeks of April 3 and 10.

McConnell was at dinner on March 8 after a hotel reception for a campaign committee aligned with him when he tripped and fell. In addition to the concussion, he also had a rib fracture.

He was released from the hospital on March 13 and, on doctor’s advice, was transferred to inpatient rehabilitation for physical therapy and continued recovery.

Concussions can be serious injuries and take time to recover from. Even a single concussion can limit a person’s abilities during that period.

“I will follow the advice of my physical therapists and spend the next few days working for Kentuckians and the Republican Conference from home,” McConnell said in a statement. “I am in frequent contact with my colleagues from the Senate and my staff. I look forward to returning to the Senate in person soon.”

Nearly four years ago, he tripped and fell at his home in Kentucky, causing a fractured shoulder that required surgery. The Senate had just begun its summer recess, and he had been working from home for several weeks while he recuperated.

He had polio in early childhood and admitted to some difficulty as an adult in climbing stairs.

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