Nebraska’s Republican governor, Jim Pillen, was in intensive care at a hospital on Monday being treated for injuries he sustained after falling from a horse while horseback riding with his family the day before.
Pillen, 68, was treated at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, for a spleen injury sustained when he fell from a new horse.
Doctors said Piren’s prognosis was good despite seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a minor fracture in one of her vertebrae, and mild kidney damage that is expected to heal on its own. said. He is expected to remain in the hospital for at least another day, but his condition is said to be stable.
Governor underwent a minimally invasive surgery called prophylactic embolization for the splenic injury. Doctors threaded a wire into an artery near the spleen and inserted a coil to stop the bleeding, said Hillman Tarzian, a trauma surgeon at the Nebraska College of Medicine.
Nebraska government Jim Pillen hospitalized after falling from horse
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was in intensive care at a hospital on Monday being treated for injuries sustained in a fall from a horse the day before. (Getty Images)
Terzian said Piren was sedated during the surgery and everything went well. The operation lasted less than an hour, and Republican Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly took over as governor for the time being in a normal transfer of power.
Terzian said the governor suffered no damage to his nervous system and there were no signs of injury to his head, neck or spinal canal.
Piren has shown a willingness to get out of bed and has already walked several laps, Terzian said, which he called “very impressive.”
Doctors said it was normal for someone his age to be in intensive care with spleen damage similar to Piren’s disease and rib fractures. Terzian said the governor’s “prognosis is very good.”
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Republican Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen was treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star, via AP, File)
“We don’t expect people who get injured to get up the next day and run a marathon, but we show them that they can get out of bed and pick up small objects. I hope they do,” Terzian said. .
The biggest priority for Piren’s doctors right now is controlling the pain.
Doctors have options to treat the ribs, Terzian said, but no other surgeries are planned.
Piren arranged for her to work from her hospital room.
The governor’s office said the injuries were serious but not life-threatening and could have been worse.
Governor Pillen is recovering from seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a minor fracture to one vertebrae, and minor kidney damage, which are expected to heal on their own. (AP Photo/Ferrand M. Ebenhack, File)
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Pillen was elected governor in 2022, running for governor in the same year because former Gov. Pete Ricketts, also a Republican, was term-limited.
Before being elected to the state’s highest office, the governor worked as a veterinarian and ran a livestock operation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
