By AARON SANDERFORD
Nebraska Examiner
OMAHA — U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who represents the Omaha area, had an emergency appendectomy overnight Wednesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
The congressman’s office confirmed the procedure to remove his swollen appendix. They said it was successful, and they expected Bacon to be released as early as Thursday afternoon.
“All good,” Bacon said Thursday. “An appendix can (go) north to south so quickly. I thought it was food poisoning. But as (the) day went on I realized it was more serious. I could hardly walk last night. Surgery worked magic!”
Bacon, 59, a retired Air Force brigadier general, went to Walter Reed Wednesday evening, after some meetings, staff said. They said his appendix was three times the normal size.
He thanked his doctors and nurses at Walter Reed for helping him and others and said he looks forward to getting out in a couple hours and “quickly returning to work.”
His office had no immediate word on how long Bacon might need to recover. They said they were working on plans to make sure he could vote by proxy if needed. Campaigning will be handled on a day-to-day basis.
Bacon is running for a fourth term against Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Vargas, on Twitter, offered “prayers for a speedy recovery” and said he was glad the surgery was a success.