U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo is recovering from an emergency appendectomy that forced her to cancel a pair of appearances in Palo Alto, her office reported Wednesday.
Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, had not been feeling well for a couple of days and a doctor diagnosed her with appendicitis Tuesday, her office said. She underwent a successful surgery at Stanford Hospital the same day and “is making a full recovery,” according to her office.
There were no complications during the surgery, which was performed by Dr. Karen Whang, Eshoo’s office said. The congresswoman plans to work from home the rest of the week and cancelled plans Wednesday to deliver Gunn High School’s commencement address and meet with the Palo Alto City Council.
Gunn officials scrambled Wednesday morning to find a replacement speaker, but at 2 p.m. Principal Katya Villalobos confirmed that U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, would fill in for Eshoo at the 6 p.m. graduation ceremony. Lofgren attended Gunn and was a member of the school’s first graduating class in 1966.
Villalobos said Eshoo’s staff was “incredible” and helped make the arrangements with Lofgren.
“Of course we wish (Eshoo) well and we’re thankful that she made time in her schedule to (speak at the graduation),” Villalobos said.
While Eshoo’s cancellation came as a “surprise,” Villalobos said she wasn’t too concerned about its impact on the graduation ceremony.
“I knew that (Eshoo’s office) would help, but I also knew if it came to that and we didn’t have a speaker, our kids are always the center of attention,” Villalobos said. “I knew that we had some incredible student speakers as well.”
Eshoo was also scheduled to meet with the Palo Alto City Council at 4 p.m. to discuss issues such as high-speed rail. City spokeswoman Linda Clerkson said the council typically meets about once a year with the congresswoman and the city plans to rescheduled the meeting.
E-mail Diana Samuels at dsamuels@dailynewsgroup.com.
