U.S. Civil Rights protected for at least 1 week.

[Timber Loftis]

Get well, Mr. Ashcroft.
____________________________________________
March 5, 2004
Ashcroft Hospitalized With Pancreatitis
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:48 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General John Ashcroft has been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, a painful condition that usually clears up within a week with treatment.

Ashcroft, a 61-year-old former Missouri senator who has been free of health problems, canceled an appearance Thursday afternoon at which he was to have announced verdicts in a terrorism case.

Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said Friday the attorney general initially believed he had a stomach flu.

``He went home and when the condition worsened, he was visited by White House physician Daniel Parks, who advised that he go to the emergency room,'' Corallo said.

He said Ashcroft was taken Thursday night to the George Washington University Hospital for evaluation.

``After a full medical work up in the emergency room, it was determined that he was suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis,'' Corallo said. ``He was admitted to intensive care for careful monitoring and is being treated with antibiotics.''

Corallo said he expects Ashcroft will spend a couple of days in the hospital.

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas, a small organ that secretes digestive enzymes and insulin. The two main causes are alcohol abuse and, as in Ashcroft's case, a gallstone that blocks the passage leading from the pancreas to the beginning of the small intestine. It also may be caused by infection, injury or certain medications.

Symptoms include sudden, severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and fever.

The cornerstone of treatment is fasting, essentially allowing the pancreas to rest by reducing its secretions, along with supportive care to prevent complications. For gallstone-caused pancreatitis, the stone often passes but sometimes it must be removed surgically or through an endoscopic procedure.

In most cases, gallstone-caused pancreatitis clears up within a week after treatment. The prognosis depends on whether the inflammation was bad enough to do serious damage to the pancreas, in turn leading to low blood pressure and damage to other organs. In very severe cases, death can occur.

There are about 80,000 cases of acute pancreatitis each year in the United States, about 20 percent of them classified as severe.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Is it wrong to be sort of, you know, not that sad over that?

[Timber Loftis]

He'll get better, and I wished him well. And, believe it or not, I meant it.

[Oblivion437]

It must be that he can't emulsify the heavier elements from all the blood he's sucked away from America... (this statement brought to you by the Bush/Quayle campaign)

[Timber Loftis]

Mr. Ashcroft is going to be okay. He had his gall bladder removed. Irony? Where will he find his gall now?