Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-Highland Park) best friend in the U.S. Senate thinks it is time for Illinois’s junior senator to get back to work at least on a part-time basis, according to a statement released by Kirk’s office.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) paid Kirk a visit Saturday, giving him not only cards and good tidings from his colleagues, but work to do.

• Earlier: Kirk’s Brain Swelling Stabilizes

“I brought him some work to get done, some proposals to look at and some of the political magazines that have all the news in Washington,” Manchin said. “I brought all the love and best wishes of the Senate to Mark and his family, including cards with good wishes from his colleagues.”

Manchin spent Saturday morning with Kirk and his family at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and gave his own prognosis after the visit. “He's getting more irritated at being in the hospital, which means he's definitely getting better,” Manchin said. 

An opinion on Kirk’s condition also came from his family, which has been with him on a regular basis since his stroke. “He is talking, making jokes and asking about work,” they said in a statement issued by the Senator’s office.

The family was there when Kirk was visiting with Manchin and is grateful to the well wishes the senator has received from across the state.

"We want to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to Senator Joe Manchin for all he has done and continues to do to be a source of comfort and strength for our family,” they said in the statement. “We know how much his friendship means to Mark. Joe is truly a class act.”

Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital Jan. 21, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of his neck, according to a release issued Monday by Kirk’s office. He was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where further tests revealed that he had suffered an ischemic stroke.