Teresa Heinz Kerry, philanthropist, heiress, and wife of Secretary of State John Kerry, was flown to a Boston hospital from the island of Nantucket on Sunday.
Heinz Kerry, 74, was in critical but stable condition, reports the Chicago Tribune. Glen Johnson, a spokesperson for Kerry, announced that she was ill but did not give details.
“Late Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry was taken by ambulance to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, accompanied by her husband,” said Johnson.
“Once doctors had stabilized her condition, she was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, again accompanied by the secretary. The family is grateful for the outpouring of support it has received and aware of the interest in her condition, but they ask for privacy at this time,” he continued.
One source reported that she appeared the be having a seizure, according to the New York Times. The ambulance arrived at the family’s vacation home on Massachusetts' Nantucket Island around 3:30 pm.
Widow to former Republican Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania, Heinz Kerry is an heiress to the H. J. Heinz ketchup fortune. After Heinz died in a plane crash in 1991, she married Kerry in 1995.
Heinz Kerry was born in Mozambique to Portuguese parents, educated in South Africa and Switzerland, and is fluent in five languages. Her philanthropic efforts include her chairwomanship of the Heinz Family Foundation and her frequent donations to environmental causes.
The Secretary’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in September of 2009 but is now in remission.
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