By Jeremy Gray
State Sen. Tim Melson on Sunday told Alabama Daily News he should be home in a few days after suffering a cardiac arrest while in South Korea.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Alabama,” Melson told ADN. “I’m very thankful for all the well wishes and prayers. The outpouring has been amazing.”
Melson, R-Florence, suffered the cardiac arrest while he was trying to recruit businesses and STEM teachers to Alabama.
It was reported that State Sen. Arthur Orr, R- Decatur, who was among the legislators on the trip, administered CPR to Melson.
Melson was elected to the state Senate in 2014. He is a retired anesthesiologist and a medical re- searcher.
He is perhaps best known at the State House for sponsoring the bill lawmakers passed in 2021 to legal medical marijuana in Alabama.
The family of Sen. Tim Melson on Friday said they continue to be encouraged by his medical progress.
“He is off all life sup- port and has been moved out of the ICU,” Dr. Gil Melson, the senator’s brother, said in a message shared with Alabama Daily News.
The three-term lawmaker from Florence was part of a state delegation visit- ing South Korea late last month when he suffered a cardiac arrest. Several members of his family traveled to the country to be with him.
“Tim is now able to sit upright in a wheelchair and converse with the medical staff and his family,” Gil Melson said. “He has even made a few telephone calls home.
“We are now able to contemplate transport options for the long journey home in the coming days. On behalf of Tim and all the Melson family, I thank everyone for their prayers. We believe they have made all the differ- ence in Tim’s remarkable recovery process.”
Melson’s son, Tyler Melson, who has been sharing regular updates on a Facebook page, said Friday transportation plans are underway for the trip back to Alabama. The date is still to-be-determined.
Melson, an anesthesiologist, was first elected to the Senate in 2014. He is the chair of the Senate Health Care Committee and previously chaired the chamber’s Education Policy Committee.
His Senate district includes Lauderdale County and much of Limestone County.
His legislative work includes the 2021 law al- lowing medical marijuana usage for people with specific illnesses and conditions and the creation of the Lauderdale County Agriculture Event Center, which is under construction.