Sen. Kirk medical letter: 'Full cognitive recovery' from stroke

A massive stroke that kept U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk out of the Senate for nearly a year has left him with impaired vision in one eye, occasional halting speech, no use of an arm and limited use of a leg, according to a short medical letter his campaign released on Wednesday.

The Kirk campaign issued a three-paragraph letter dated July 19, 2016, from Dr. Richard Fessler, the Chicago doctor who performed Kirk's brain surgery after his Jan. 21, 2012, stroke.

Kirk's stroke did not affect "the left side of his brain, which controls cognitive and verbal functions," Fessler wrote, concluding Kirk "has made a full cognitive recovery."

Politically, Kirk's campaign believes the big question voters have is about the mental state of Kirk, who turns 57 on Thursday, and what the lingering fallout of the stroke is on his judgment, if any.

Some of Kirk's controversial remarks - such as calling his colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a "bro with no ho" in 2015 - have fueled speculation about Kirk's mental status.

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