Surgery places rep. on leave

U.S. Rep. John Campbell will be out of commission for about a month after undergoing surgery Thursday morning to remove part of his colon.

“In car terms (I am ever the car guy after all), my muffler is bad and I’m going to be straight-piped,” Campbell disclosed in a blog entry on his website Thursday.

The congressman worked in the automotive industry before beginning his political career as a state assemblyman in 2000.

Campbell, who serves on the House Budget Committee and chairs the Budget and Spending Task Force of the Republican Study Committee, will not attend governmental hearings or vote while recovering from surgery, according to his website.

Campbell has suffered from diverticulitis for the past eight years.

The digestive disease causes pouches to form in the digestive tract that result in severe abdominal pain when they become infected, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Campbell has dealt with gastrointestinal problems through his life, according to his blog, where he details a problem he had with a bleeding ulcer at age 29.

The congressman’s struggle with diverticulitis has worsened over the past year, leading his doctors to recommend the surgery, he wrote.

Campbell’s last blog entry before the surgery was light-hearted.

“Could it be these past 2 years with Nancy Pelosi as speaker has caused such a pain in my stomach that it led to this,” the Congressman wrote. “And I know that some of you have felt that I was full of it, but now I have medical evidence that you were correct.”

Campbell’s prognosis is good and his staff expect him to fully recover, said Brent Hall, communications director for the congressman.

“I can assure you that he has consulted with some of the best doctors in the country ... and he is looking forward to returning to work and help lead the debate on the issues important to his constituents in Orange County and the nation,” Hall said.

Hall would not divulge where Campbell was being treated out of privacy concerns, but said the congressman would spend time recovering from the surgery at his home in Orange County.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].