Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling is on the mend after being hospitalized last week when he had a “heart event” during a meeting.
Keyserling was attending a meeting Wednesday, March, 13, at Penn Center to discuss the new designation of Beaufort County’s Reconstruction Era National Monument as a National Historical Park when he had trouble breaking and began coughing. Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray called 911, and Beaufort County EMS took Keyserling, 70, to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Keyserling, who last year shed about 160 pounds, said the illness was unrelated to his rapid weight loss. He said testing showed he did not suffer a heart attack because no serious arterial blockage was found, but his oxygen level and heart rate dropped, likely as a result of stress.
Keyserling was released from the hospital Friday, March 15, and said he spent the weekend at home resting and “rethinking my to-do list, ensuring my full attention to mayoral duties is not compromised while perhaps slowing down on some of the outside activities I am passionate about.”
“Assuming I take prescribed meds and follow doctors’ orders to reduce and manage stress, the expectation is that there is no permanent damage and I will fully return to normal in a matter of 30 days,” Keyserling said in an email. “The best news is that I actually feel normal now, but that is with the aid of the temporary battery of meds that enhance recovery.”
Keyserling praised the quick response of everyone from Murray, for calling 911, to the paramedic team, and the staff in the BMH emergency room and intensive care unit for helping nurse him back to health quickly.
“I am a very fortunate man to have had such responsive and productive treatment,” he said, “and will forever feel grateful.”
