AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will miss next week’s Republican National Convention as he recovers from extensive burns sustained when he came into contact with scalding hot water – meaning his state’s large delegation to Cleveland will be without its chosen chairman.
Spokesman Matt Hirsch told The Associated Press on Tuesday that doctors said it would be “irresponsible” for Abbott to travel, including to the gathering celebrating presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Abbott, who took office last year, suffered what his office termed a “minor infection” after sustaining second- and third-degree burns on both legs below the knee and both feet on Thursday, while vacationing with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
He spent Monday night at San Antonio’s Brooke Army Medical Center, and the following day “underwent a successful skin graft procedure,” his office said in a separate statement.
But rather than returning immediately to Austin as planned, Abbott “will extend” his hospitalization to “allow for further healing and to ensure a prompt recovery,” it said. There was no word on Abbott’s up-coming schedule beyond Hirsch’s confirmation that he won’t be in Cleveland when the convention starts July 18.