Rep. Bell undergoing treatment for tumor

Rep. Paul Bell of Newton remains in Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, following doctors’ discovery of a tumor in his stomach.

Prior to any surgery to remove the mass, doctors this morning were scheduled to subject Bell to an additional test known as a PET scan, which stands for “Positron Emission Tomography” and consists of the patient receiving a nuclear medicine, traced through the body in an imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image of the functional processes of the body. The objective is to ascertain if the tumor has spread, primarily through the lymphatic system.

Bell and his wife, Niki, returned to Iowa from Izmir, Turkey, via air ambulance after he passed out from internal bleeding. He has been at Iowa Methodist since early Sunday morning.

On Monday, Bell noted he had received four units of blood while hospitalized in Turkey. Loss of blood from internal bleeding caused the local legislator and retired police officer to pass out several times. Bell, in good humor, noted he was “now blood brothers” to those Turkish friends who so courageously came to his assistance at a critical and crucial time.

State Sen. Dennis Black spent Monday morning at the hospital with Bell, his wife Niki, children Alliison and Brad, and sister Ruth. According to Black, “the family was visibly anxious to learn of a definitive diagnosis, expected Tuesday morning, so plans could be made for anticipated treatment. Aside from that, they were very happy to be together again as a family, especially in a private hospital room at Iowa Methodist, rather than the semi-modern hospital in the remote city of Izmir on the eastern coast of Turkey .”

Additional facts have come to light regarding the Bell’s rapid removal from the fairly isolated location near the desert mountains of Izmir. U. S. Embassy personnel had been advised of the emergency medical situation regarding the Iowa state official. Working in conjunction with the Turkey government and Turkish contacts of Sen. Black, Bell was located and immediately prepared for removal to Munich, Germany. In Munich, an additional German pilot, and a German doctor and nurse joined in a crowded Lear jet, for the long trip to Iowa. Refueling stops were made in Iceland, Newfoundland and Ontario.