Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. Dec. 10, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
OMAHA -- First-term Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen chose to have surgery Wednesday to repair his broken ribs at the Nebraska Medical Center.
The decision will keep Pillen, 68, in the hospital at least "several more days for recovery and observation" after he was seriously injured Sunday when a new horse he was riding with family members bucked him off.
The surgery, scheduled for late Wednesday afternoon, will elevate Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly to the state's top job for the roughly four hours while Pillen is incapacitated for the procedure and recovery.
Kelly, also 68, is a former Lancaster County Attorney and a top prosecutor in the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.
Pillen's decision to stabilize his broken ribs with metal plates should "promote stronger long-term healing" help with pain management during recovery and "reduce the odds of complications," the Governor's Office said in a Wednesday afternoon statement.
"Based on the Governor's health profile and active lifestyle, his doctors consider him an ideal candidate for this procedure," the statement said.
Pillen on Sunday suffered seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a lacerated spleen, a fractured vertebra and a kidney contusion.
Pillen and Nebraska First Lady Suzanne Pillen wished Nebraskans a "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah." The statement said he "remains grateful for the exceptional care he is receiving by the team at Nebraska Medicine and thanks Nebraskans for their outpouring of support to him and his family."
Full recovery could take three months, his doctors said. He spent Sunday, Monday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the Omaha hospital partner of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
His doctors who spoke with reporters on Monday said they were pleased the governor suffered no injuries to his head, neck or spine, common injuries from horse-riding falls.
They said Pillen was up and walking Monday after emergency surgery later Sunday to repair his spleen. That surgery was the first time Kelly briefly assumed the role as governor for a few hours.
The Wednesday statement said Pillen's recovery from the spleen surgery has "progressed well" and that there have been "no new issues" regarding injuries to his kidney and lung.
The former University of Nebraska regent and 1970s-era Husker defensive back had pressed doctors to let him go home to Columbus for the holiday, his doctors said.
That's where his family runs a hog operation and where the family land was where he was riding on a new horse named Jack with his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.
The horse was not injured. The Governor's Office told reporters Jack is "fine."