Politics

Senate President Karen Spilka returns to Statehouse after mild stroke

The Ashland Democrat also announced she's running for re-election.

Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka. Nicolaus Czarnecki/Pool

December 20, 2021

1 minute to read

There were no warning signs, according to state Senate President Karen Spilka.

The 68-year-old Ashland Democrat told NBC10 Boston’s Alison King that she woke up with a bad headache on Nov. 15 — the day she was invited to the White House. Instead, the headache got worse and she felt nauseous, so she went to a local hospital.

BREAKING: MA Senate President @KarenSpilka was uncharacteristically working from home for the past five weeks. She explains why in my exclusive interview. 6pm @NBC10Boston and @NECN #mapoli pic.twitter.com/5cZQuxLQYa
— Alison King (@AlisonKing_MA) December 20, 2021

After an MRI, doctors told her she had a mild stroke, she said in an interview with the TV station.

“I was very tired, I was very fatigued afterward and my doctor said to rest. That was his prescription to me,” she said.

Spilka returned to work, remotely, the next day, she said in the interview. She returned to the Statehouse on Monday.

“I’m fine. In fact, I’m feeling great now. But I wanted to speak out because I think it’s really important for people to hear about what happened to me from me,” she said.

King described Spilka as an advocate for stroke awareness, who knows all the warning signs — including a sudden vision loss and drooping face. Spilka said she had none of those symptoms.

“A lot of people have mild strokes and don’t even realize they had that,” she said.