Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) left President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address abruptly Tuesday night after receiving word that her youngest son, Matt, was undergoing an emergency appendectomy, a GOP aide said.

Matt Murkowski, a senior at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., was scheduled to undergo the surgery at George Washington University Hospital, according to the aide.

“The Senator was in the House chamber just prior to the speech when she got word that her youngest son was scheduled for an appendectomy tonight, so she headed straight for [the] hospital,” the aide said.