Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was in a hospital intensive care unit Monday being treated for injuries after he was thrown from his horse while riding with his family the day before.
Pillen, 68, was treated at Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, Nebwhere he was undergoing medical treatment for a spleen injury sustained when he was knocked off a new horse.
Doctors said Pillen’s prognosis was positive despite seven rib fractures, a partially collapsed lung, a small fracture in one of his vertebrae and a minor kidney injury that is expected to heal on its own. He is expected to remain in hospital for at least another day but is in stable condition.
The governor underwent a minimally invasive procedure called prophylactic embolization to treat the spleen injury. According to Nebraska Medicine trauma surgeon Hillman Terzian, doctors inserted a wire into his arteries near his spleen and inserted coils to stop the bleeding.
NEBRASKA GOV. JIM PILLEN was rushed to hospital after being knocked off by a horse
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was in a hospital intensive care unit Monday treating injuries he suffered after being thrown from a horse the day before. (Getty Images)
Terzian said Pillen did well during the procedure, so he was sedated. The operation lasted less than an hour and Republican Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly served as governor for the time being as part of a routine transfer of power.
The governor suffered no damage to his nervous system and there were no signs of injury to his head, neck or spinal canal, Terzian said.
Pillen was motivated to get up and had already run laps, Terzian said, noting that this was “very impressive.”
The doctor said I was there Intensive care is normal for people with a spleen injury similar to that of pills and rib fractures at his age. Terzian said the governor has “a very good prognosis.”
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Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)
“We don’t expect someone with their injuries to run a marathon the next day, but we want them to get out of bed to show us they can pick up small objects and things like that,” Terzian said.
Pillen’s doctor’s biggest priority right now is controlling his pain.
No further operations are planned, although doctors have options to treat his ribs, Terzian said.
Pillen has made arrangements to work from his hospital room.
The governor’s office said his injuries were serious but not life-threatening and could have been much worse.
Governor Pillen is recovering from seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a small fracture in one of his vertebrae and a minor kidney injury that is expected to heal on its own. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
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Pillen was elected governor in 2022 and ran in the gubernatorial election that year because former Gov. Pete Ricketts, also a Republican, was term-limited.
The governor worked as a veterinarian and owned a livestock business before taking office elected to the highest office in the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
