Sen. Chris Murphy Is Hospitalized After a Stroke That Began With a Numb Arm. Pray for Him, Then Learn the Signs.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., was hospitalized Saturday after a stroke, his office said Sunday. The senator "started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son's hockey game," his chief of staff, Allison Herwitt, said in a statement, NBC News reported.

"He was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke," Herwitt said. "He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment. The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery," according to NBC News.

Murphy, 53, has represented Connecticut in the Senate since 2013, after serving three terms in the House, and has crisscrossed the country in recent weeks campaigning for Democrats in the midterm elections, according to CBS News. He is not up for re-election this year and had been slated to campaign in New Hampshire on Sunday with Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic nominee for Senate there, NBC News reported.

As of Sunday evening, his office had not released further details on his condition, including how serious the stroke was or when he might go home. President Trump told reporters Sunday that he would reach out to Murphy "at the right time," and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who had a stroke during his 2022 campaign, said his family is rooting for Murphy's recovery, Axios reported. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he and his wife are keeping Murphy and his family "in our prayers," ABC News reported.

Know the signs of a stroke

Murphy's first sign was numbness in his arm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the main warning signs of stroke: sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or difficulty understanding speech; sudden trouble seeing; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or lack of coordination; and a sudden severe headache with no known cause. The CDC says to call 9-1-1 right away if you or someone else has any of these symptoms, according to the agency's stroke guide.

The CDC teaches a quick test called B.E. F.A.S.T.: check balance, check eyes, ask the person to smile to see if one side of the face droops, ask him to raise both arms to see if one drifts downward, ask him to repeat a simple phrase to hear if speech is slurred, and if you see any of these signs, call 9-1-1. Note the time symptoms first appear. The agency also warns, "Do not drive to the hospital or let someone else drive you," because paramedics can begin treatment on the way, the CDC says.

The CDC says the stroke treatments that work best are available only if the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within 3 hours of the first symptoms. If symptoms go away after a few minutes, it may have been a transient ischemic attack, sometimes called a mini-stroke, which still needs medical attention right away, according to the CDC.

Strokes are not only an old person's problem

Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, and someone in the country has a stroke every 40 seconds. Stroke risk increases with age, but strokes can and do occur at any age. In 2014, 38% of people hospitalized for stroke were younger than 65, CDC figures show.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity and diabetes are leading causes of stroke, and one in three U.S. adults has at least one of these conditions or risk factors. In one survey, 93% of respondents recognized sudden numbness on one side as a symptom of stroke, but only 38% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1, the CDC reports.

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Opinion: Pray for him, then learn the signs

Chris Murphy and I disagree on a great deal. He has been one of the sharpest critics of President Trump and a leading voice on the left. None of that matters tonight. A 53-year-old father felt his arm go numb at his son's hockey game, and now he is in a hospital bed two days before an election he has worked hard in for his party. Christians should pray for him and his family without hesitation.

Scripture gives us words for that prayer: "The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." We do not pray only for our friends. We pray for our neighbors, and in a free country our political opponents are still our neighbors.

We should also resist the urge to guess. His office has given a hopeful report, and nobody outside his family and doctors knows more. Those who rush to speculate about his career or his future before he has even gone home are not showing care. They are using a sick man.

And there is a lesson for every household. Most of us would shrug off a numb arm at a ballgame. Murphy's story is a reminder to take it seriously. Learn the signs. Teach them to your children and your parents. If something seems wrong, call 9-1-1 and do not drive yourself. Our bodies are a gift from God, and caring for them, including knowing when to ask for help fast, is part of good stewardship.