Deconstructing the Rehabilitation Video

Mark Kirk, Illinois Senator from Lake County, had a stoke in January. His staff, this week, produced and distributed to the local & national MSM a video of his rehabilitation:

Senator Mark Kirk on his rehabilitation "walking program"

The video is mostly shots of the state-of-art rehabilitation technology at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where Kirk is being treated. The News-Sun observed the video ...

shows him walking determinedly, if not easily, with a walker and on a treadmill with the help of a harness and a physical therapist. Some shots show him using parallel bars to support himself with his right hand. Kirk says he hopes "to climb the 45 steps that my staff counted from the parking lot to the Senate front door to fight for the people of Illinois." Though doctors warned Kirk may suffer permanent facial paralysis, his facial expressions appeared little changed from before he suffered the stroke. "I'm currently enrolled in a walking study for stroke patients," he says in the video. "It's described as an intensive program. One of the more interesting set-ups they had was a set of wraps around my legs with silver balls to be all recorded so a stick figure could be generated on the computer."
In video, Sen. Mark Kirk says he's anxious to get back to work

The video focuses exclusively on the rehabilitation of Kirk's motor functions. Conspicuously absent is mention of any cognitive rehabilitation efforts. Your LakeCountyEye assumes the omission indicates that Kirk's regimen did not require cognitive rehabilitation, and he is soon to resume his duties representing Illinois in Washington DC.

The News-Sun reports ...

Reprising his campaign refrain, Kirk says, "I can't wait to go back to work to vote to tax less, borrow less, and spend less to fix our economy."
In video, Sen. Mark Kirk says he’s anxious to get back to work

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is funded in part by:

• National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
• National Institutes of Health
• National Science Foundation
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
• VA Office of Research & Development
  Research at RIC

These are all taxpayer-supported Federal agencies. Their generosity will enable Mark Kirk to return to the Senate and vote to tax less, borrow less, and spend less.

Cognitive ability is defined in part as the ability to reason with consistency. Your LakeCountyEye wishes the Senator a full and speedy recovery.