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Updated at 12:36 a.m. ET: The Santorum campaign announced that Bella Satorum was released from the hospital Monday night.
In a news release, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum and his wife Karen announced that their daughter returned home after being hospitalized for pneumonia over the weekend.
The campaign announced changes in Santorum's schedule, including an added stop in Gettysburg, Pa. Tuesday afternoon.
Ealier story: GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum's hospitalized daughter could be released Monday, his campaign said.
Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said 3-year-old Bella was doing much better and could be discharged from a northern Virginia hospital by the end of the day.
MSNBC's Thomas Roberts speaks with Hogan Gidley, Communications Director for Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, about the hospitalization of Santorum's daughter, and when the candidate could return to the campaign trail.
"The family hopes to take her home from the hospital very soon," he said.
Related: Santorum to remain with ailing daughter on Monday
Bella was hospitalized Friday as her father began a brief holiday break from campaigning. He did not campaign Monday so he could be with his daughter, who suffers from a rare genetic condition called Trisomy 18.
Santorum faces an uphill battle against front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. The contest next turns to Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania, where both men plan to campaign heavily and where Romney is airing $2.9 million in TV ads against Santorum.
Gidley said Santorum's campaign schedule Tuesday would depend on his daughter's health, but that "we have a full day of events planned tomorrow, so he should be back on the campaign trail."
In deference to Bella's illness, Romney's campaign pulled down a harsh ad that was running against the former senator in Pennsylvania. Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Monday the campaign asked TV stations over the weekend to pull the ad and replace it with a positive, pro-Romney spot instead.
Romney is far ahead of Santorum in the race for delegates to the Republican National Convention and is the likely GOP nominee. Santorum has said he won't drop out of the race, though he's acknowledged he will have to win Pennsylvania if his campaign is to survive.
Bella was hospitalized in January with pneumonia and Santorum left the campaign trail, ahead of the Florida primary, to care for her. The campaign has not provided details of her latest hospitalization.
While Bella doesn't travel with her father, she is a frequent presence in his campaign.
Santorum carries a photo of her and often says she wasn't expected to live beyond her first birthday. Supporters frequently ask how she is doing or mention her when they meet him. Her story is well-known to religious conservatives who back Santorum because of his strong position against abortion.
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Even though I want Romney to win, I wish the best for Santorum and his daughter. Even if one of Obama's daughter's was in the hospital, I would want his child to get better, even though I think Obama's a terrible president.
P.S.-Just because I'm from PA, don't expect me to vote for Santorum. Most Pennsylvanian's are voting for Mitt.
A very honest perspective. Very well put.
Random - last time I checked anything less than 50% + 1 doesn't qualify as "most".
A former Pennsylvanian.
Now Romney can release his negative ads & completely destroy Santourm
End result; NOT GOOD,, 60 million American families lose health care coverage & the Koch brother's ALEC takes over our Constitutional democracy and write the laws as they are doing in states with Tea Party governors
"Voodoo Economics" on Steroids & more tax payer bail outs ---- More false intelligence fed to the media to drive more wars ---- "Mushroom Clouds" deja vu, here we go again!
"Where your nightmares end,,,,, Willard begins"
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Willard_1971.jpg
DB-Pennsylvania's general election outcome is decided by central and north western PA, and the outskirts of Philly. All the other counties of PA are Republican or Democrat. Right now, central PA and NW PA are leaning Republican. The outskirts of Philly are still in the middle.
How lucky Rick is to have publicly-funded health insurance coverage that allows him to take his daughter to the hospital whenever he needs to.
Now what about the rest of us?
Provide proof that Santorum is using publicly funded healthcare. The man can afford to not have health insurance and pay for the bills out of pocket.
@ Real -
What was your point? Its a well written paragraph on how disabled children can cost alot in dealing with their health problems. Rick Santorum makes enough to pay for it out of pocket. So again, where is your proof that Rick Santorum is using publicly funded healthcare?
Wasn't Santorum a senator or something? Why in the world would he pay out of pocket with a health plan like that? What confuses me is that I thought his religious stance didn't recognize genetics or evolution. His daughter, sorry to say, is one of evolution's dead ends. And I don't mean to say it isn't tragic and I do feel for them. Too bad gene therapy isn't available to correct the problem. But isn't that another problematic area with him given the rights of fertilized eggs?
isnt it great that Santorum has a government health plan to insure his kids ... millions of Americans dont have access to that kind of care ... and Santorum wants to take it away from millions more
random-Obama is teh best president we've had in years you silly sheep
Softdude - glad you are asking questions,
Yes, 12 years - when he lost re-election in 2006, he pretty much had quit politics for good.
Because the government plans are actually no better than most other peoples plans.
Soft dude, that is what politically deceitful people promote. Most churches don't have a problem with genetic research provided we aren't trying to create new human beings, especially just to harvest organs or other body parts. Evolution is actually a real mixed bag. Christians believe in evolution to the degree of adaption of species to their environment as Charles Darwin originally taught. Being the discrepancies of different numbers of chromosomes and complexities of DNA do not have any straight path to humans and that the most minute defects whether minus or extra means developmental disabilities and even sickness probably precludes the morphing from the amoeba to the human.
If there is no god to create, then the only other way we could possibly be here is from evolution.
BTW Charles Darwin is actually buried in England's Westminster Abbey - so the church obviously didn't believe he was a total heretic.
From a Christian perspective, our the disobedience to God cost us dearly. Before we disobeyed, there was no sickness, no disabilities. But because we handed what God gave to us over to Satan, who is roth with God for being stopped from overthrowing God in heaven.
Satan intends things like this to destroy us, but God permits it, to purfy us, to strengthen us. It is how you handle these helpless ones that can separate us from being selfish beasts or being god's people.
Understood.
It might never be available. Drug companies cut R & D in any realted fields to meat Obama's demand for cost cuts to drugs. I'm certain the smaller market stuff was first to be cut. The cuts were pretty severe because even cancer research got cut.
I wish Santorum's daughter all the best. Don't get me wrong, I still hate Rick as much as ever, but that's got nothing to do with his family.
On a side note, it's dangerous to support Romney--he's there for his corporate friends. You don't know what his views really are (since he changes them all the time, often back and forth) and it's highly likely that he simply doesn't care about America. Becoming president is simply a means to a nefarious end.
Spartan- I agree. People love to say that Dubbya was just a puppet, but we have proof that Romney goes both ways when ever it makes him look better. So wouldn't that make him the perfect puppet?
All the best to Rick and his family! I pray his daughter will be well soon! I know how much Rick would like to be President, but I think his daughter would be more important. There are other days to run and if something serious happens to your daughter, you won't ever forgive yourself! Time to re-access?
My thoughts exactly.
Santorum needs to stay at home with her, however.
You know if something were to happen to her and he was on the road he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
Ruken: It would be comforting to think that you are correct. However, Santorum shows such signs of self absorption that I doubt it is true.
Santorum is so full of hypocrisy and contradictions, he would not recognize himself in the mirror. But the bottom line is that since he cannot win the nomination, he would be a better father to drop out now and shift his attention to his family. Do not hold your breath waiting for that to happen!
And despite the nonsense of RafftheGreat, it is obvious that Santorum uses his publicly funded health plan from his time in office PLUS his personal wealth to cover expenses. At the same time, he is fighting to DENY catastrophic as well as regular and preventive health care on a universal basis [to people who are not wealthy as he is].
I'm pretty sure that Rick loves his daughter--which is probably the only thing good about him.
Be a real man and don't return to the trash you have been blanketing the states with!
Why? Santorum hasn't stopped with HIS trash even WITH his daughter in the hospital!
Santorum is a bible-thumping zealot and we will be in deep S**T if he gets in ANY office!
dont worry-no chance of that-God struck down his daughter-pretty sure hes telling Rick to get out of teh race!
Norman
This is a pagan belief that a god would do something evil. Just as light and darkness do not co-exist, neither can good and evil. For God to be "Holy" then he can never do anything that is "evil",
It is written that the rain must fall on both the good and the bad. If the good were the only ones having good things, then no one would have a free choice weather or not to follow God.
This is rather a trial. Is he going to really be fully committed to move forward in the campaign or be weak when things get a little tough!
@DB: in the Old Testament, God does plenty of nasty things to people on a whim. A prime example being the Egyptians--God prevented the Pharaoh from letting the Jews leave, and then punished him for it. Seriously, if an undercover cop forces you to commit a crime, you can't be held responsible for it.
Thanks to the best healthcare taxpayer money can buy.
Thermen - FACT Santorum is paying for most, if not all of Bella's Care.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/03/santorum-concedes-his-private-health-insurance-sucks
Too bad Santourm & Romney's demands will end coverage for children with the same preexisting conditions that his own child has isn't it?
Too bad for the Free Market who tells you that expanding Medicare & the Health Care industry is a great creator for jobs & helps many businesses and states isn't it?
DB Akron-
Technically, the federal pension Santorum draws for being a former U.S. Senator could be considered "taxpayer money", though I doubt that's what Therman Merman meant and I don't know if it would even be enough to cover Bella's care.
Ash - his tax returns showed he makes several times his federal pension in investments and consulting.
I've read Therman's posts before, he is basically is saying that Santorum gets that mythical all paid for health care.
The fed only pays up to half of the health insurance for ANY federal employee. The point at which the employee is getting half paid for is when it is the cheapest of the plans offered.
DB Akron
How is it a fact if you aren't even sure if it is most or all??
Go ahead and post your sources please.
The greater question is, "Can America afford to elect a President with the distraction of a special needs child?" His family and the nation would be better served if he left politics and took care of his child. A President can hardly deal with unforeseen family problems, let alone fully anticipated recurring health problems. His responsibility will be to the American people first, not his special needs child. He cannot be the father he needs to be to Bella and our President at the same time. Sorry, Rick. Bella disqualifies you from seeking the office of President.
Not that I would vote from him but I keep seeing this:
Why? did Santorum become a single parent recently and I just haven't heard about it?
Go home and stay there Rick. And if you put yourself in the public eye again, why don't you campaign for national health care, so that other families dealing with illness can enjoy wonderful healthcare like you have?
Good point. It's sad that "family values" doesn't mean staying home and caring for an ailing child to him. He is lucky, though, isn't he, that taxpayers help pay for his child's healthcare, while he gripes about paying for others' c are?!
Get out Rick, or forget any political future. I'm happy to hear Bella is doing better, stay home with her. From what I'm reading abput you continuing your negative campaign (energy) against Romney. Keep it up and I will release you Opus Dei cult worshiping everywhere.
i simply do not understand why republicans would nominate people who are so insanely religious. romney was a self admitted pastor of a church for 10 years and santorum is on the very fringe of catholic thought- he's more conservative than the pope. nothing is scarier than folks who think they have a direct pipeline to the almighty. anyone ever notice how selfish the religious are? i'm just asking.
There is one thing more scarier than Christian believers - that's Che, Hugo, and Allah worshippers such as who is now in the White House.
...Not to mention people who are ill-informed about which religion the President belongs to.
Brilliant Ash Plissken - brilliant. Subtle too....
Or people who think it's a good idea for the President to be deeply religious, for that matter.
To be honest, I can't imagine having a child that ill. It's extremely sad. But what bothers me, aside from all his "religious" talk and senseless beliefs is: Imagine if he were President...............he would be (or should be anyway), so concerned with his daughter's health, how could he concentrate on all the problems the U.S. is having? His concentration would be continuously interrupted worrying about his daughter. He should just drop out and let his love for his family, rather than his ego, take up his time, and get out of our private business! :-(
G.H., my daughter is very ill. She is 23 and thanks to ACA I can afford for her to get the medical treatment she needs to stay alive. If any of these men were to win the Presidency or if ACA crumbles they will still be able to preserve the lives of their children, but mine would be destined to die of something that is treatable, but without her being covered under my insurance we couldn't afford the treatment. I recently told my very religious niece that a vote for one of those men may be a death sentence for her cousin.
Sorry your daughter is Ill. But you have draw extreme conclusions that are not correct.
Er, Lulu, I think that Nica is speaking from bitter experience...not drawing "extreme conclusions."
And those would be? My daughter is still on my insurance because of ACA. It has been repeated numerous times by all the Republican candidates that their first order of business is to repeal ACA & then shut down PP. Nothing extreme about my conclusions. My daughters meds are over $750 a month without insurance - her treatments would cost me over $6000 a month - so how extreme is that? Could YOU afford that? If you can then God bless you because most people I know would be bankrupt. She cannot get her own insurance, she was denied because of a pre-existing condition, so back onto my plan. No extreme conclusions just experience.
nica....sorry to hear about your daughter but your post is ridiculous....
mcpad no nica is right she said if they get in office..get it
Again, just random insults, no real evidence that what my family has been going through & what it would go through without ACA is a lie... what do I expect from people that do not live in the real world. AND frankly mcpaddywack, you can take your sympathy and cram it up your ass where your head appears to be.
you tell him or her
Nica, I feel for your daughter and for you. I'm very sorry to hear this, and I'll keep you in my prayers. Best of luck to you.
Huh? Is it $750 a month or $6000 a month? I'm getting confused here...
Meds & treatments are not the same thing. Her meds alone would be $750. Her treatments would be over $6000. And the most insane part of it is that I would pay that amount without insurance, but the insurance company doesn't pay near that much, BUT we don't need health reform in this country.
I'm glad to hear it, and I hope she continues to do as well as possible for as long as possible.
i am also glad to hear that rick's daughter is doing better........now we have to get rid of obama and get our nation back on the right track...i can't believe that anyone can look around our nation right now and think that things are wonderful...obama has done enough damage!...ANYONE BUT obama IN NOVEMBER!
we can think ???huh.. look around its a mirage huh
what an intelligent comment. Do you have any reasons why you want him out of office? What policies of his directly effect you in a negative way? please explain.
yes...for one he is a fan of big government.....big government is a cancer.........and i think he is generally a liar, a distorter, and a divider who will say anything in hopes he can get someone stupid enough to vote for him....i also don't like that he is allowing the feds to bust marijuana dispensaries after people vote to approve them.....gitmo still open..unemployment underreported........surrendering in afghanistan..the abomination known as obamacare......trying to divide the american people along economics, race, etc.......and on and on
hahaha
Will you EVER stop embarrassing yourself with the idiotic nonsense that you constantly spew Paddy?
God must want everyone on health care.santorumm the Christian man went to a doctor.funny i thought they can pray and the illness will go away
santorum dont need a hospital he speaks directly to God..
why did he let his daughter go to the hospital with all that faith he has?
Because elvis,maybe he has faith in hospitals to keep his kid alive!
Dumb Post!
I'm glad that his daughter is recovering. She is a sweet little girl, and I wish her and her family the strength and faith to deal with her illness.
me too..but with all that faith the family has..why go to a doctor?
Because God doesnt cure the diseases and ailments of those on earth. Atheists should not speak unto what they know NOTHING about.
I think elvis loves to stick his foot in it every so often! Don't ya elvis?
shutup mary-you dont know teh kid-she could be a jerk
Norman,
Do you know anything about trisomy chromosomal disorders? Thought not. To even hint that a child suffering from one could be a "jerk" cannot be classified as mean, it can only be ignorance. I have no love for Santorum (my being a leftist liberal and all), but to fault a man (not a candidate) for staying with his little girl is unconscionable.
Norman: Yes, you are correct; I don't know the little girl. However, I've not often heard the term "jerk" to describe a little girl. Moreove, she is a little girl who suffers from a chromosomal disorder. This chromosomal disorder causes her much suffering.
So, I said she is sweet. In her pictures she looks sweet. I feel for her and her family.
As a conservative Democrat, I don't agree with Mr. Santorum's politics, nor his blurring the lines between Church and State. However, he seems to be a good man, and I'm sorry for what he and his family have suffered.
I won't break the CoH and tell you to "shut-up," but you really should make an attempt to think for two seconds before you post a comment.
we need to find out who paid her hospital bill..us or him meaning tax payers.. you know the government getting in the way
Apparently he pays for most of it out-of-pocket which, unlike most people, he can actually afford to do.
And as disgusting as I find the notion that she's only still alive because he's rich, I obviously can't begrudge him spending that much to prolong her life. I mean, who wouldn't do likewise for their own daughter, if they had the means?
She is ONLY alive because HE IS RICH !!!
Otherwise he would have gone bankrupt with the over $10,000 he has paid out of pocket.
The rest of us would be homeless. AND our child would be dead.
I hope his daughter has a speedy recovery and is home soon.
"Her story is well-known to religious conservatives who back Santorum because of his strong position against abortion."
When we were pregnant, the doctors thought our daughter had Trisomy 18. We elected to not have have the testing to find out if she did have it - testing later revealed she did not. My husband and I are both pro-choice. We made our choice to not terminate, regardless of the health of our child. Many pro-choice parents make the same decision every single day - we choose to have our children.
while i am happy to hear that his daughter is gonna be ok i kind of want to ask him how that whole government run health care is working for him.
It's ironic how santorum fights against obamacare but is using a version of it if he still has his senator's health insurance. Obamacare is just about the same thing as fed health insurance. Ted kennedy made it that way. You get the same health care as what he's got he would say. And he did it too. The same as the court justices get.
But hospital stays costs at least $25K per day. I tell you it's best not to follow the rushbo's example of not having any health insurance and paying for everything in cash the day your hospital stay is completed. Somebody should ask whether or not santorum has the same health insurance as ted kennedy. The same as obamacare. And how he likes it. And if he likes it, why is he fighting soooo hard so that everyone doesn't have it. Or is he just a puppet and has been told to act that way.
I tell you with obamacare, santorum can focus on the health of his child while she is critically sick. That is the way it should be. That's why it's needed.
First let me say that I undertand Rick's need to be with his sick child. Been there. Our daughter died of leukemia.
But he wishes to be President. Should he stay with his sick child and not engage in necessary presidential duties? Does the US take a back seat because his child is ill?
And - this is hard to post. Should we give a pass for symptjhy?
Being a President takes a lot more than being a nice, loving, Christian man, time for Rick to figure our his priorties?
First of all my condolences on the loss of your daughter.
Yes he should stay with his sick child!
No he's not president yet,nor is it likely he's going to be.
So in this case Rick gets a free pass!His daughter comes First and Foremost!
linda-he neevr had a chance at the nomination-God is clearly telling him to drop out-what else do you need besides God striking your daughter almost dead to get it??
Norman?You're sense of empathy is worse than elvis.Do yourself and the rest of this crowd a big favor.There's a bridge with your name and the word Troll carved underneath it! CRAWL BACK UNDER IT!
I am not of fan of yours Mr. Santorum, but your daughter and family are in my prays.
I would even wish Hussein obama's daughters the best though I can't stand the sight if him.
Wow! That's..so.white.of..you.Only.in.America..could.something--said...it's..people..like..you...that..us...a..bad-name.
The child is not at fault for her parents playing the sick child card, along with their oppressively boring religion card. He has never once offered any proof of his so-called conservatism or what he would do in Washington, except throw up over separation of church and state. Never a day goes by that he doesn't say something incredibly stupid and inane. I cannot stand his looks or his ways. He doesn't understand what FREEDOM means, but the rest of us do, except the ignorant people like him. I will vote Romney--a true gentleman, a business genius, and a wonderful family man.
My heart and prayers go out to Bella.
Even if you have your mind made up, it never hurts to listen :-)
Please take 2 minutes to watch this. It just might be the most important message of all time.
It's called "The Nail"
youtu.be/Ee6pEGch1QU
(please copy/paste, clickable link doesn't work)
great video Proud
check this one out.
youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=9cjF2kbrIUo
Santorum needs to refund every penny that his GOVERNMENT health care has paid for this. He is a millionaire lobbyist, he can afford to pay the hospital bills.
I hope the child is ok but my skepticism is getting the best of me.
I believe that this was a manufactured episode for a child that may not have REALLY needed to be hospitalized.
Santorum was about to LOSE his home state. All the pols showed that. Then, tragically, his daughter gets very ill RIGHT BEFORE and into the morning of the election.
Opponents pulls ads. Media softens coverage and Santorum may win a state he should have lost.
I don't believe for a minute the child was that sick, I just don't...