Many people were surprised to learn this morning that a U.S. senator had died and it was not Mitch McConnell. Wild rumors have been swirling about the former Republican Senate majority leader’s health for the past month. McConnell was taken from his home in an ambulance on June 14, and has been in the hospital ever since. His staff did not offer any substantive updates on his condition, even as elected officials from both parties called for an explanation and conservative commentators demanded proof of life.

Then on Sunday night, around 12 hours after we learned of the shocking death of McConnell’s Senate colleague Lindsey Graham, the Kentuckian finally shared a photo and a lengthy statement on his health.

The picture, which was shared with media outlets and on the senator’s Facebook page, shows McConnell sitting up with pillows behind him and his wife Elaine Chao at his side. In his right hand, he just happens to be holding a copy of today’s Washington Post sports section.

In the statement McConnell says he was hospitalized due to a fall at his home last month that left him “briefly unconscious.” He notes that he “didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke” (contrary to what was said on an EMS dispatch call), nor did he suffer break any bones or have a concussion. He says he’s been dealing with a “mild case of pneumonia,” but is now healthy enough to move from the hospital to a rehabilitation center.

McConnell attributes his silence over the last month to discomfort with sharing information on his health. “You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older,” he says. “Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it.”

Here’s McConnell’s full statement:

To my fellow Kentuckians – When you elected me to a seventh term and made me our Commonwealth’s longest serving Senator, you did so trusting that I’d keep showing up to fight for you every day. And over the past several weeks, Elaine and I have appreciated both your well wishes and your honest questions about what was keeping me away from the Senate.You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it.But at the same time, I’ve had more than my share of experience with........

© Daily Intelligencer