Johnson Update

From this morning's Argus Leader:

South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson's doctors are saying he soon will be able to fully resume his senatorial duties.

They could not say, however, when Johnson would return to Capitol Hill.

Johnson, who suffered a brain hemorrhage six months ago, has been working from home for several months while he undergoes physical, speech and occupational therapy several hours a day, five days a week.

"He's on a great track, he's doing well, but he has to keep doing therapy," Johnson's spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said Monday. "It's like looking at an athlete and saying: 'There won't be a problem. You'll be able to come back to work, but you'll miss a few more games.' "

The 60-year-old Democrat is able to speak clearly, and his mental capacity is fine, the doctors said in a statement released Monday. Last week, Johnson visited both his attending physician at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dr. Michael Yochelson, and the neurosurgeon who performed emergency surgery Dec. 13 at George Washington University Hospital, Dr. Vivek Deshmukh.