Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Secretary of State John Kerry, was hospitalized Sunday (July 7) after suffering a grand mal seizure at their island home in Massachusetts. Heinz Kerry, 74, was taken by ambulance to Nantucket Cottage Hospital where she was placed under critical condition at around 3:30pm.
The Secretary of State’s wife, who is also the widow of former Senator John Heinz and heir to the famous ketchup company, has since been flown to Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital . Unfortunately, there were no signs of origin or causes for the seizer and she continues to undergo evaluation but her medical status has been upgraded to fair condition.
A grand mal seizure is the most serious type of seizure that involves tonic and clonic stages that evoke loss of consciousness and rhythmic muscle contractions. Heinz Kerry is a breast cancer survivor and her sudden convulsion may have been triggered by previous treatments. Dr. Orrin Devinsky, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at New York University Langone Medical Center said that the cancer can spread to the brain or brain lining which can cause a grand mal seizure. With seizures of this magnitude and without any relative medical history, doctors could have a hard time getting more detailed answers.
Sec. Kerry and family have been at Teresa’s bedside and released a statement showing gratitude but they have not released any further details about the emergency or her medical condition. “The family is grateful for the outpouring of support it has received and aware of the interest in her condition,” the company said in a statement. “But they ask for privacy at this time.”
