HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia delegate had a good excuse for missing the recent start of the legislation session — he was recuperating from surgery after donating a kidney to his sister.
Cabell County Democrat Sean Hornbuckle told The Herald-Dispatch that he planned to return to Charleston this week.
Hornbuckle was told by doctors to stay in bed last week as he recovers from the surgery in which he donated a kidney to his sister, Kara Hornbuckle. The legislative session started Wednesday.
“My main concern was being able to help her,” Hornbuckle said. “That was the biggest thing. It’s in my nature to help anyway.”
He said Kara Hornbuckle, who was diagnosed with diabetes at an early age, had been on kidney dialysis for more than two years. Her condition worsened to the point that she required a transplant.
“Dialysis wears on people,” Sean Hornbuckle said. “You get tired and run down. You’re not able to do the things you are accustomed to. It changes everything up, even from the standpoint of work and being able to work, which messes with you financially. It’s a lot on a person.”
The surgery was performed Dec. 19 at the University of Kentucky.
