Senator Chris Murphy Hospitalized After Stroke, Office Says

Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, according to a statement issued on Sunday by Allison Herwitt, his chief of staff. A chief of staff is the senior aide who runs a lawmaker's day-to-day office.

Murphy, who is 53, represents Connecticut in the U.S. Senate, the upper chamber of Congress. He first felt numbness in his arm on Saturday while attending his son's hockey game. A hospital visit confirmed that he had experienced a stroke, and he was then transferred to Johns Hopkins for monitoring.

Murphy is awake and alert and responding well to treatment, The Guardian reported. Doctors are encouraged by his progress and optimistic that he will make a full recovery.

Murphy was first elected to Congress in 2006. Members of the Senate each represent an entire state, and Connecticut is the state Murphy represents in that chamber.