What the Doctor Ordered
May 21st, 2007 at 10:02 pm
When Sen. Mario Gallegos was forced back to Houston Friday for medical tests, he probably succeeded in raising the blood pressure of every Senate Democrat still in Austin. With just a week left in the session, there was no guarantee Gallegos would be able to return. Lt. Gov. Dewhurst had already said he might bring voter ID back up for consideration if the opportunity presented itself.
The sight of Gallegos back on the Senate floor Monday morning was enough to squelch rumors that voter ID could come back up today. Wednesday is the last day for the Senate to pass the measure.
After missing much of the session recovering from a liver transplant, Gallegos has been back on the Senate floor the last few weeks. Without him present, Democrats don’t have the 11-member opposition necessary to block the voter ID bill in the Senate. He has been up and working against his doctors’ advice, and Gallegos returned Monday morning with news that his body is rejecting his new liver.
To help Gallegos rest while he’s on the job, Greenville Republican Sen. Bob Deuell — who is also a family doctor — rented a hospital bed and placed it in the office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms, just off the Senate floor.
Glancing down at the empty bed in the corner, Deuell joked that his next trip would be out to the mall, so he can pick up an appropriate teddy bear to keep beside the pillow.
Meanwhile, the Houston Chronicle blog is asking for reader input: “Is Dewhurst risking Gallegos’ life on voter I.D.?”
May 24th, 2007 at 6:11 am
[…] John Whitmire for thanks. Deuell, he said, called regularly while he was in the hospital, and even put a hospital bed near the Senate chamber for him. Whitmire is a longtime friend of Gallegos, and often defended him […]