Barbara Jordan Listed in Critical Condition After Accident in Pool

Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, who rose to fame in 1974 during the Watergate impeachment hearings, was in critical condition Saturday after she was found floating unconscious in a swimming pool at her home, authorities said.

Authorities responded to a report of a possible drowning shortly after noon, and Jordan was treated at the scene by emergency medical technicians, Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Irwin said.

Jordan, 52, was taken by helicopter to Brackenridge Hospital in critical condition, authorities said. Paramedics “said she had a pulse, was trying to breathe, and they were able to help her breathe en route to (the) hospital,” hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Boyle said.

At a briefing late Saturday, a doctor said that Jordan, a professor at the University of Texas, was being treated for fluid in her lungs but showed no signs of either heart or brain dysfunction.

“She has full recovery of her intellectual functions. Her vital signs are much better,” Dr. William Deaton said. She remains in critical condition, he said, but “the capital ‘c’ is not so big as when she got here.”

Jordan, who suffers from a degenerative bone disease and uses a wheelchair, was swimming alone, hospital officials said. Jordan for years has refused to discuss the illness, simply calling it “a mobility problem.”

Investigators have not yet determined how the accident happened.

The daughter of a Baptist minister, Jordan in 1966 became the first black state senator in Texas history. In 1972, she was the first Southern black elected to Congress since Reconstruction.

She addressed the recent Democratic National Convention in Atlanta and spoke in support of fellow Texan Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, who was selected as the vice presidential nominee.