Teresa Heinz Kerry Upgraded To Fair Condition In Hospital
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After falling ill Sunday afternoon at her vacation home on Nantucket, Teresa Heinz Kerry was flown on her private jet to Boston -- where accompanied by her husband Sec. of State John Kerry and family members.
Heinz Kerry was being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for what sources said were seizure-like symptoms.
The good news on Monday was that her status has improved -- upgraded from critical to fair.
A personal spokesman for Secretary Kerry said Heinz Kerry had undergone a series of tests at mass general.
"She is undergoing further evaluation, and Secretary of State John Kerry, her son, and other family members remain with Mrs. Heinz Kerry at the hospital in Boston, as they have been since she became ill. The family is touched by the outpouring of well-wishes," said Glen Johnson, personal spokesman.
Well-known in Pittsburgh for decades, first as the wife of the late Sen. John Heinz and later for her philanthropy, Heinz Kerry burst onto the national political scene when her second husband John Kerry ran for president in 2004.
But she's always called Pittsburgh her roots, as she recalled during the presidential campaign.
"So I always cherish going home to Pittsburgh," she said. "They are my American roots still today -- my farm, my offices are there. And I'm so grateful that I had that opportunity to become an American amongst the people of Allegheny County and Pennsylvania."
Her husband was seen briefly Monday morning outside their Boston Beacon Hill home -- but he and other family members have mostly remained at the hospital.
Eighteen years ago, she married Kerry -- and became known for her outspoken views on the national political scene when Kerry ran for president
"My name is Teresa Heinz Kerry," she told the Democratic Convention in 2004, "and by now I hope it comes as no surprise that I have something to say."
Fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese, Heinz Kerry has always voiced her opinion no matter the language, once telling a local Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editor to shove it.
After that election, the couple promoted their book -- "This Moment on Earth."
A philanthropist with many causes, the environment is one Teresa's favorite, often citing Pittsburgh's success in environmental clean-up.
"If it's possible here," she said, "it's possible everywhere."
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