Caroline Kennedy: Ted was determined to get to DNC

[August 26, 2008]  DENVER (AP) -- Caroline Kennedy says her uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, went through a lot to get to the Democratic Convention but is "doing unbelievably" well and remains determined to return to the Senate.

The Massachusetts senator on Monday night delivered a ringing summons to fellow Democrats to rally behind Barack Obama's quest for the White House.

"He's so inspiring," Caroline Kennedy said in an interview aired Tuesday morning on CBS' "The Early Show. "To watch him up there was just so great."

The senator, 76, has been battling brain cancer, but his niece said he was "doing unbelievably."

Kennedy flew to Denver on Sunday night, and his first stop was a hospital, where doctors examined him. His physicians had been wary of the convention appearance, especially his exposure to crowds, given the weakness of his immune system after weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The brain cancer was diagnosed after he collapsed in May in Hyannis Port, Mass.

"What it took for him to get here was something I never thought I'd see in my life," Caroline Kennedy said.

Her uncle plans to return to the Senate and has maintained a work schedule, she said.

"He's been working all summer. He's on the phone all the time," she said.

[Associated Press]

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