Sen. Mark Kirk has invited one of the physical therapists who helped him recover after his stroke to be his guest for next week's State of the Union address.
A spokesman for Kirk said Mike Klonowski of Chicago was one of the Republican senator's primary physical therapists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
The spokesman said Kirk invited Klonowski because he wants to highlight the work physical therapists do.
Kirk suffered a major stroke last year that limited movement on the left side of his body and affected his speech. He said early last month that he doubted he would fully recover.
"There was a time with my left leg when my doctors said, 'It will bear weight,' and I thought, 'You know, I'm the owner of this leg. Yeah, right. It'll never bear weight.' They were right and I was wrong," Kirk said last month on the eve of his return to the senate.
He went through months of rehabilitation before making an emotional walk up the steps of the U.S. Capitol and returning to work last month.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address Tuesday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
