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University Neurosurgery

Rush University Medical Center


Professional Building
1725 W. Harrison St., Suite 855
Chicago, IL 60612

Tel: 312.942.6644
Fax: 312.942.2176
www.rush.edu

July 19, 2016


From: Richard G. Fessler, M.D., Ph.D., Rush University Medical Center
Re: Summary of Mark Kirk Medical History
This letter outlines the medical history and current health status of Mark Steven Kirk. In 2012, as
a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill., I led the medical team that
diagnosed and operated on Mr. Kirk following his ischemic stroke. I am currently a
neurosurgeon and a professor of neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
In January 2012, Mr. Kirk suffered an ischemic stroke caused by a dissection of his right carotid
artery. After experiencing a headache, numbness in his extremities, and impaired vision, Mr.
Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital. He was later transferred to Northwestern
Memorial Hospital, where my surgical team and I performed a craniotomy. After his discharge
from the hospital, he underwent 10 months of inpatient and outpatient physical and occupational
therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, including nine weeks in an intensive
rehabilitation program, to regain the ability to walk.
At the time, I stated that Mr. Kirks prospects for a full mental recovery were good but that he
would have physical impairments on the left side of his body and vision. Since that time, Mr.
Kirk has made a full cognitive recovery and has made rapid improvements in his physical
recovery. Mr. Kirks stroke was on the right side of his brain, affecting the portions of his brain
that regulate movement on the left side of his body. As a result, he has no use of his left arm or
hand and limited use of his left leg, which is strongest near the hip and weakest near the foot. He
walks with the assistance of a cane and a brace on his lower left leg. He is unlikely to regain
further range of motion on his left side, but he continues to undergo regular exercise and physical
therapy to maintain his strength. His speech is occasionally halting but has vastly improved. The
stroke did not affect the left side of his brain, which controls cognitive and verbal functions. His
vision on the left is also impaired.
Aside from the lingering physical effects of the stroke, Mr. Kirk is a healthy 56-year-old male.
Prior to the stroke, he lived a normal, healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and a reasonable
diet. He has maintained a similarly healthy lifestyle after the stroke, and has no increased risk of
another stroke. Mr. Kirk has never been a smoker, does not use tobacco products or illicit drugs,
and rarely drinks alcohol.
Sincerely,

Richard G. Fessler, MD PhD

Rush is a not-for-profit health care, education and research enterprise comprising Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Health.

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