Nebraska Examiner Press Release
BY: AARON SANDERFORD
OMAHA — First-term Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen chose to have surgery Wednesday to repair his broken ribs at the Nebraska Medical Center.
The decision will keep Pillen, 68, in the hospital at least “several more days for recovery and observation” after he was seriously injured Sunday when a new horse he was riding with family members bucked him off.
The surgery on Wednesday briefly elevated Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly to the state’s top job while Pillen was incapacitated for the procedure and recovery.
Kelly, also 68, is a former Lancaster County Attorney and a former top prosecutor in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
Pillen’s decision to stabilize his broken ribs with metal plates should “promote stronger long-term healing,” help with pain management during recovery, and “reduce the odds of complications,” the Governor’s Office said in a Wednesday afternoon statement.
“Based on the Governor’s health profile and active lifestyle, his doctors consider him an ideal candidate for this procedure,” the statement said.
A follow-up statement sent shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday, said the surgery was “a success” and that Pillen was back in the step-down unit “where he will continue his recovery from the horse-riding accident.”
Pillen on Sunday suffered seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen, a fractured vertebra, and a kidney contusion.
Pillen and Nebraska First Lady Suzanne Pillen wished Nebraskans a “Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.” The initial statement said he “remains grateful for the exceptional care he is receiving by the team at Nebraska Medicine and thanks Nebraskans for their outpouring of support to him and his family.”
Full recovery could take three months, his doctors said. He spent Sunday, Monday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day at the Omaha hospital partner of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
His doctors, who spoke with reporters on Monday, said they were pleased the governor suffered no injuries to his head, neck, or spine, common injuries from horse-riding falls.
They said Pillen was up and walking Monday after emergency surgery later Sunday to repair his spleen. That surgery was the first time Kelly briefly assumed the role as governor.
The Wednesday statement said Pillen’s recovery from the spleen surgery has “progressed well” and that there have been “no new issues” regarding injuries to his kidney and lung.
The former University of Nebraska regent and 1970s-era Husker defensive back had pressed doctors to let him go home to Columbus for the holiday, his doctors said.
That’s where his family runs a hog operation and where his family owns land that he was riding at on Sunday with his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.
The horse he rode, Jack, was not injured. The Governor’s Office told reporters earlier this week that Jack is “fine.”
