Kent City Councilman Les Thomas is expected to return home next week after spending more than a month in the hospital due to complications from surgery.
Thomas is expected to be able to return in April to his part-time Council position, said Lee Thomas, the son of Les Thomas, in a phone interview Wednesday. Thomas missed both Council meetings in March as well as a few committee meetings.
Thomas, 64, went to the Valley Medical Center in Renton Feb. 27 with a pain in his right side and had emergency removal of his gallbladder, Lee Thomas said.
Thomas came out of the surgery with intense stomach pain and had another surgery March 3 to repair his small intestine. Thomas remained in the intensive care unit for a week. But it appears the councilman finally has started on the road to recovery.
“He was sitting up (Tuesday) in a chair and watching TV,” said Lee Thomas, a Kent attorney. “He also got out in the hallway. He still has some more healing in his stomach but we hope he will be out of the hospital in a week or so.”
It is possible Thomas could return for the April 6 Council meeting but more than likely he won’t be back until the April 20 meeting, his son said.
Lee Thomas said he has kept his father updated about city issues. Lee Thomas works with Council President Jamie Perry at the Hanis Irvine Prothero law firm and also talks with Councilman Ron Harmon.
“He likes getting the updates,” Lee Thomas said. “When he gets healthy, he can hit the ground running.”
In addition to a return to the Council, Les Thomas has a daughter with a May 1 wedding date.
“It’s looking like he will be able to participate in that,” Lee Thomas said.
Les Thomas has served on the Council since 2004. He was reelected in 2007 to a four-year term that ends in 2011. He previously served on the King County Council and in the state House of Representatives.
Thomas is retired from the jewelry business. He is married and has four children, all graduates of Kent-Meridian High School.
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