By Phil Corso
Days after he underwent a neurosurgical procedure to remove a benign tumor, City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) took to Facebook to update followers on his recovery.
“I’m out of the rough patch. Doctors are shocked,” Halloran said on his Facebook account, accompanied by a photo of him in the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around his head. “I am way ahead of recovery schedule.”
He then went on to use some humor.
“They attribute it to whiskey and my thick Irish skull,” he said.
Halloran was operated on Wednesday at the NYU Langone Medical Center, in Manhattan, and was scheduled to return home to Flushing by the end of this week, his office said.
Spokesman Steven Stites said the councilman was already showing positive signs since going into the operating room for what he called a lengthy procedure.
“He’s walking, talking and looks like the same old Dan,” Stites said. “We expect he will be out of the hospital in a day or two.”
According to Stites, Halloran was diagnosed in March on the morning of his campaign kick-off for the 6th Congressional District seat.
Hours after going into the hospital, Halloran’s chief of staff, Chrissy Voskerichian, posted on Halloran’s Facebook, reporting a successful surgery. She said everything went well and he expected a full recovery.
“He’s going to be at 100 percent capacity as if there wasn’t anything wrong,” Voskerichian said. “We’ve got a campaign to run.”
Voskerichian added that Halloran would likely talk more about the procedure and his initial diagnosis upon his return.
The councilman’s office remained open and active during Halloran’s time in the hospital and recovery.
In a statement before going into surgery, Halloran said that although he was worried about the operation, the procedure was still a small ordeal when compared to what other New Yorkers might be living through.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
