Tartaglione leaves wheelchair to walk on Senate floor

For the second time since being partially paralyzed by a 2003 boating accident, State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione on Tuesday walked in the Senate chamber.

At the opening of the Senate session, Tartaglione (D., Phila.) read a statement from her wheelchair before getting up to use a walker, with the help of two aides, and making a slow half-circle around the chamber to her chair.

There were cheers, tears, and high-fives from her colleagues and friends, a kiss from Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow (D., Lackawanna), and a hug from U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.).

On Labor Day weekend in 2003, Tartaglione was with friends on a small powerboat off the Jersey Shore when a larger boat passed by and whipped up a large wake. Tartaglione's boat was rocked, and she fell to the deck and suffered a spinal-cord injury.

She fought her way back through complex surgeries and grueling therapy at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and Moss Rehab.

Tartaglione was elected in 1994, the fifth woman elected to the state Senate.