By CHRISTOPHER WEAVER
DENVER (Aug. 26, 2008)—Roxanne Taylor, 51, a Maryland 5th congressional district delegate at the Democratic National Convention, was hospitalized Tuesday after suffering a stroke shortly after midnight.
Taylor, an insurance executive from Bowie, attended an event hosted by Comptroller Peter Franchot Monday night at Dixon's, a downtown Denver bar.
Her party left to get on a shuttle bus to their hotel when Karren Pope-Onwukwe, a fellow delegate and Hyattsville attorney, realized her friend was no longer with the group.
She went back into the restaurant and found her still at the table. She didn't look right, Pope-Onwukwe said.
"She complained about her contact lens and she got steadily worse," Pope-Onwukwe said.
Within minutes, her mouth began to droop and the other delegates called for paramedics.
The first paramedics arrived within minutes by bicycle. An on-call doctor showed up at the scene, coded her, and directed paramedics to transport her to Denver Medical Center, where she was listed in fair condition Tuesday morning, said a spokesman for the hospital.
Pope-Onwukwe, who was with her until 3 a.m., said doctors told her Taylor was responding well to medications.
"She's a fighter. She doesn't give up," said Pope-Onwukwe, who's been on the campaign trail with Taylor for Sen. Barack Obama since the Iowa caucuses.
Taylor has been with the campaign since its first days.
"They were just setting up a Prince George's county for Obama. I got involved, went to that group, it was just a handful then - before Iowa," Taylor said, in an interview last week.
Even from her hospital bed, Taylor's mind was on her candidate. According to Pope-Onwukwe, the last thing she said before her friend left at 3 a.m. was "make sure you get my credentials," for entrance to the convention arena.
Capital News Service contributed to this report.