Syracuse, NY - Onondaga County Legislator Bill Kinne said he has never been prone to headaches. So when the mother of all headaches struck him March 31, he knew he was in trouble. Minutes later, he was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Kinne, 53, suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage — bleeding around the brain — that...
Bill Kinne, Onondaga County legislatorSyracuse, NY - Onondaga County Legislator Bill Kinne said he has never been prone to headaches. So when the mother of all headaches struck him March 31, he knew he was in trouble. Minutes later, he was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Kinne, 53, suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage — bleeding around the brain — that kept him in Upstate University Hospital nearly a month. He returned home April 27.
“All the doctors agree, I’m very lucky,” said Kinne, a legislator for 18 years. “There was a lot of blood, they said, but they caught it in time.”
Doctors have told Kinne he will be unable to return to his landscaping job for at least the remainder of the year. The Democrat, who represents Syracuse’s Valley, Elmwood and University neighborhoods, said he hopes to return to meetings of the county Legislature sooner. But the date of his return depends on the results of medical tests in June.
Family and friends have launched a fund-raising effort to help Kinne as he recuperates. A fund-raising party will be held at 5 p.m. June 18 at American Legion Post 1468, 110 Academy St., in the Valley neighborhood of Syracuse. Tickets cost $20, with children under 12 free. The event will feature food, drink and raffles.
For information or tickets, or to make donations, call Larry Kinne at 633-0027 or Bill Kirkby at 450-0173.
Larry Kinne, Bill’s brother, said friends and family decided to raise money because Bill Kinne probably will be unable to work as a landscaper for eight months or more.
“For what he went through, he’s doing well,” he said. “It’s just going to be a long recovery process.”
Bill Kinne said he will go back for more tests in June because doctors have been unable to pinpoint the source of his bleeding.
In the meantime, he is resting and undergoing physical therapy. Kinne said he gets regular updates from his colleagues on the Legislature, and has been eager to return.
He asked his doctor if he could attend the May 4 session, but was told to wait.
“I probably should take her advice,” Kinne said.
Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 470-3023.