{"id":2327,"date":"2007-10-04T17:03:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-04T23:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/domenici-reveals-disease-announces-retirement\/"},"modified":"2007-10-04T17:03:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-04T23:03:00","slug":"domenici-reveals-disease-announces-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/domenici-reveals-disease-announces-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Domenici reveals disease, announces retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici\u2019s<\/a> announcement this afternoon that he would not seek a seventh term was a formality, but it was also a time of celebration of a man who has devoted 35 years of his life to working for New Mexicans in the nation\u2019s capital. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The room at St. Mary\u2019s Catholic<\/st1:placename> School<\/st1:placetype> in Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was full and the applause was loud. Domenici was soft-spoken \u2013 a common trait in recent years \u2013 as he announced his plans, explained his disease and talked about his career \u2013 both what has happened and the 15 months that remain.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to do our best with those 15 months to do something spectacular,\u201d Domenici said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As expected, he announced that he is suffering from frontotemporal lobar degeneration<\/a>, which can lead to frontotemporal dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A statement prepared by Domenici\u2019s doctors states that the disease, depending on which area of the brain it affects, can:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 cause dysfunction of the parts of the brain that are important for organization, decision making and control of mood and behavior. In this form of the disease, the affected individual may show impulsivity, outbursts of anger, mood swings or repetitive behaviors.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 affect the part of the brain important for language. The affected person may have difficulty speaking but understand what others say. In other cases, speech is fluent but comprehension of language is impaired. Late in the disease, people often make little sense when speaking and have trouble recognizing or knowing how to use less familiar objects.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Sometimes, the doctors state, people do not have one clear form of the disease, but show symptoms of each. The disease can also affect motor function, causing slowness of movement, tremor or poor use or rigidity of one or more limbs. The voice may become soft or harsh.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There is no cure or treatment that can stop progression.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici said he felt \u201cvery little impact\u201d from the disease for two years, but a checkup in September revealed a \u201cslight\u201d progression.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI had to consider whether I could in good conscience run for election and serve you as well as I could for another six-year term,\u201d Domenici said. \u201cAt this point, I\u2019m doing well, and have no doubt that I can continue to serve you for the remainder of my term.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But, he said, he could not begin another term he knew he might not be able to complete. Domenici said his condition could remain stable in seven years or he could be incapacitated.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can read the full statement from the doctors by clicking here<\/a>. Read Domenici\u2019s marks as they were prepared for delivery by clicking here<\/a>, and a summary of his career that was released by his office by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

New Mexico GOP releases statement<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The state Republican Party<\/a>, which had not previously released a statement on Domenici\u2019s retirement, put out these words from Chairman Allen Weh following Domenici\u2019s announcement:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Domenici is among the most honorable and well-respected public servants the state of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> has ever seen. He has devoted his entire life \u2013 all of his talent and energy \u2013 to improving the lives of New Mexicans, and the success he has achieved in doing so is admirable,\u201d Weh said.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe pray that Senator Domenici\u2019s health will improve, and that he will have a fulfilling life alongside his devoted wife, Nancy, and family in the years to come,\u201d he said. \u201cNew Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>\u2019s greatest advocate will leave behind a tremendous legacy of honest, ethical and effective public service. For 35 years, he has daily considered the needs of his beloved New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>; today, we are filled with great concern and fond thoughts for our beloved senator.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless Senator Domenici; we wish him the best, we pray for him and his family and we deeply appreciate his selfless and committed service to the people of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>,\u201d Weh said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici\u2019s announcement this afternoon that he would not seek a seventh term was a formality, but it was also a time of celebration of a man who has devoted 35 years of his life to working for New Mexicans in the nation\u2019s capital. The room at St. Mary\u2019s Catholic School in Albuquerque […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}