[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 70 (Wednesday, June 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RETURN TO HOUSE AFTER MEDICAL LEAVE

  (Mr. BATEMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BATEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I come to the well of the House to make 
what is, at least for me, a very happy announcement. The announcement 
is that I have ended the medical leave of absence that has prevented me 
from participating in the normal activities of the House.
  To my colleagues and so many others who since my surgery on April 17 
have remembered me in their prayers and expressed their concern for my 
recovery, I wish to say, thank you. Your prayers have been answered. 
The medical prognosis is that when I have fully recovered from the lung 
surgery, my pulmonary and cardiovascular systems should be stronger 
than before I entered the hospital and that no further medical 
treatment is needed. For this, I am truly blessed and deeply grateful.
  I would like to express my appreciation to our attending physician, 
Dr. John Eisold; to a remarkable thoracic surgeon, Dr. Edward Zech, and 
his staff at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; 
to Dr. David Ferguson, a cardiologist on the staff of the National 
Naval Medical Center; and to Dr. William Harris and his staff, who 
treated me at Riverside Hospital in my hometown of Newport News, 
Virginia.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rejoin my colleagues of the House and to 
more fully share in the work of the people's House.

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