On Tuesday, August 28th, my friend and former boss Tim Johnson, a United States Senator from South Dakota, will be featured in a full-length Nightline program. I’ve posted before about Tim and his courage and determination to come back from a brain hemorrhage last December to resume his duties in the Senate. Tim is on the right in the photo below which ran in the Washington Post. In it he is seen working from home with his Chief of Staff, Drey Samuelson, who has been with Tim since his first election to Congress in 1986.
The Nightline show is the culmination of a series of interviews of Tim by ABC’s Bob Woodruff. Apparently Woodruff has spent hours, starting in March, documenting Tim’s recovery. Tim’s family and staff are hoping the interview will provide some encouragement for viewers who have also suffered brain injuries or who have loved ones who have.
Woodruff was severely injured in an IED attack in Iraq in January of 2006. According to ABC News, Woodruff has been spending much of his time reporting on stories related to brain injuries. Recently on Nightline, Woodruff reported on how some U.S. soldiers who’ve suffered TBI, or traumatic brain injuries, in Iraq are recovering more quickly than others.
Woodruff’s story, which will air Tuesday on World News with Charles Gibson and on Nightline, will include the first interviews Tim has done since undergoing brain surgery on December 13, 2006. I hope you can join me in wishing Tim and his family all the best in his recovery and with his imminent return to the Senate chamber.
~Mike Chapman
August 28th, 2007 at 8:53 am
This just in from Drey Samuelson…
If you want to tune in to Tim’s speech today, you can see it on your computer with live-streaming video at:
http://www.welcomebacktim.com/
and look for the button on the right.
The program starts a little before 5:30 EDT, 4:30 CDT, 3:30 MDT; 2:30 PDT
And the Nightline show featuring Tim’s recovery is probably at 11:30 EDT, 10:30 CDT, depending on your local television station
August 29th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Brain surgery, huh? Okay, I’ll watch close during the interview. If he starts talking about weapons of mass destruction or those “pinko universal healthcare advocates,” we’ll know his surgeon was a Republican.
September 16th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
OK, the name made you look. I’m the “other” Tim Johnson, the blogger from Des Moines.
Great post, and (Republican or Democrat… or media dude), it is encouraging to see somebody battle back from the odds to recover.
Thanks for sharing
September 17th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Thank you for your comment, Timothy. Your namesake in the Senate has made his return to the chamber and is back in action. I’ll keep you posted.