Sen. Rand Paul’s wife, Kelley, fired back Wednesday at media reports minimizing the attack that left her husband with several broken ribs.

“This was not a ‘scuffle,’ a ‘fight’ or an ‘altercation,’ as many in the media falsely describe it,” Kelley Paul wrote in an op-ed for CNN. “It was a deliberate, blindside attack. The impact left Rand with six broken ribs, three displaced, pleural effusion and now pneumonia.

“This has been a terrible experience; made worse by the media’s gleeful attempts to blame Rand for it, ridiculing him for everything from mowing his own lawn to composting,” she wrote.

The Kentucky Republican was physically attacked on Nov. 3 while mowing his lawn at his home in Bowling Green that left him severely injured.

“The average person takes 20,000 breaths a day,” Mrs. Paul explained. “Since November 3, my husband, Rand Paul, has not taken a single one without pain. He has not had a single night’s sleep uninterrupted by long periods of difficult breathing or excruciating coughing.”

Mrs. Paul explained that no one in her family had communicated with the attacker, Rene Albert Boucher, in several years aside from an occasional wave.

Mr. Boucher, a Democratic voter, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault. His attorney, Matthew Baker, attributed the attack to a disagreement over property maintenance and was not political.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.