WASHINGTON Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois returned to work on Thursday by conquering a steep flight of U.S. Capitol stairs, stopping on occasion to gather himself and flash a thumbs-up.
Nearly a year after suffering a stroke, Kirk, a Republican, accomplished his climb with Vice President Joe Biden grasping his right arm and burly Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., steadying him with an arm around his waist.
Shouts of bravo! and yea, Mark! sounded as dozens of senators and House members applauded an ascent described later as improbable given the severity of Kirks stroke.
Newly elected Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a double amputee as a result of her Iraq war wounds, called it a fantastic day for people with disabilities.
Kirk took his regular seat in the Senate known as the Candy Desk for its drawer full of goodies for members to resume a political career that many thought had been cut short after he was stricken on Jan. 21, 2012. His achievement was made possible by months of grueling therapy.
Feels great, Kirk said, when asked by a reporter what it was like to return to work.
He used his Twitter account later to say: Will never forget seeing my Capitol Hill family from the Capitol steps.
Kirk, 53, who was elected in 2010, suffered a massive stroke just shy of a year ago that required three brain surgeries.
Soon after, he began an intensive regimen at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in which he needed to relearn how to walk. He suffers from loss of mobility on his left side, uses a cane and wears a leg brace to help him walk.
Doctors and therapists on hand for Kirks climb described his rigorous rehabilitation sessions and his drive to resume his political career. They said only one-third of 800,000 stroke victims in the United States annually return to work.
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Mark Kirk welcomed back to U.S. Senate after suffering stroke