Republican Senator Collapses – Taken Away in Ambulance

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | May 17, 2017 11:23 am

Sen. Thom Tillis[1] from North Carolina gave everyone quite a scare early this morning. He was participating in a race in Washington, DC and about two and a half miles into it, he collapsed. Three runners attended to him and got him to a hospital. The good news is that he was just overheated and he’s fine. Tillis made a video and a brief address from the hospital to ease everyone’s fears. At least this incident had a happy ending.

Senator Tillis is 56 years-old and in great health. Getting overheated in a race or at other activities is a common occurrence. In its worst form, it causes heat stroke, but this time, Tillis lucked out. Observers told The Associated Press that Tillis at first appeared unconscious, but was revived and seen breathing as he left the scene. Just before 10 am, Tillis posted a short video to his Twitter account from the hospital. “Hey everybody. I’m fine; just running — about two-and-a-half miles in got overheated, no CPR, no special measures, just checkin’ me out,” Tillis said. “See you back on the Hill.”

[2]

From the Independent Journal Review[3]:

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) collapsed early Wednesday morning while running a race in Washington, D.C., according to a report from the Associated Press.

The AP reported Tillis was given CPR and taken away in an ambulance.

Debra Alfarone, of local station WUSA9, tweeted a photo appearing to show Sen. Tillis being moved into an ambulance:

Sen. Tillis posted a photo to Twitter before the race just before 8 a.m. ET.

UPDATE [5/17/17, 9:30 a.m. ET]:

Chad Pergram of Fox News reports that Sen. Tillis is awake and at a hospital.

UPDATE [5/17/17, 9:49 a.m. ET]:

Sen. Tillis posted a video to Twitter showing him in the hospital in good spirits. “I’m fine,” Tillis said. “Just running – about two miles in [I] got overheated. No CPR, no special measures. See you back on the Hill.”

I’m very thankful and relieved that Senator Tillis will be okay. He’s a good man and we can’t afford to lose anyone right now. Tillis was being given fluids at the hospital and he was taken to the hospital as a precaution. The 56 year-old was seen on the ground being administered to by bystanders at about the 2-mile mark in the 3-mile race in Anacostia Park in the southeast part of the city. Initial reports said Tillis received CPR, though Fox News later confirmed that did not happen.

Tillis was competing in the ACLI Capital Challenge 3 Mile Team Race. According to the race website, the Capital Challenge “attracts scores of members of Congress, high-ranking political appointees, generals, admirals, television correspondents, print and web reporters, federal judges and other Washington VIPs.” He almost made it too. Getting overheated happens suddenly and many times without warning.

Tillis is the junior North Carolina senator, elected to the Senate in November 2014 after serving in the North Carolina Legislature from 2009-2015. He serves on the Senate Armed Services, Judiciary, Veterans Affairs and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committees, as well as the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging. As I said, we can’t afford to lose him.

Endnotes:
  1. Sen. Thom Tillis: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/17/sen-thom-tillis-collapses-during-dc-race.html
  2. [Image]: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Breaking-1-e1495033733613.jpg
  3. Independent Journal Review: http://ijr.com/2017/05/874624-sen-thom-tillis-collapses-running-taken-away-ambulance/
  4. May 17, 2017: https://twitter.com/AP/status/864822053504987137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  5. #bravery: https://twitter.com/hashtag/bravery?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  6. @wusa9: https://twitter.com/wusa9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  7. pic.twitter.com/gp56mXRvkz: https://t.co/gp56mXRvkz
  8. May 17, 2017: https://twitter.com/DebraAlfarone/status/864822507009974272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  9. @ACLINews: https://twitter.com/ACLINews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  10. #CapChallenge: https://twitter.com/hashtag/CapChallenge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  11. @fidelco: https://twitter.com/fidelco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  12. pic.twitter.com/K3nat4crji: https://t.co/K3nat4crji
  13. May 17, 2017: https://twitter.com/SenThomTillis/status/864809626650521600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  14. May 17, 2017: https://twitter.com/ChadPergram/status/864833563597910017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  15. pic.twitter.com/uQGQp85qzR: https://t.co/uQGQp85qzR
  16. May 17, 2017: https://twitter.com/SenThomTillis/status/864839398575280136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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