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Congressman Ron Paul canceled his Monday trip to Victoria to stay with his wife, who was in a Houston hospital intensive care unit after being hospitalized Thursday, a Paul spokesperson reported.

Spokeswoman Rachel Mills would not provide further information on Carol Paul’s condition, saying the family wished to keep it a private affair.

Carol Paul, known for her support and interest in Paul’s campaigns, was hospitalized for a pre-existing heart condition on Aug. 11, 2007. Doctors implanted a pacemaker, and she recovered without complications.

In the days surrounding her previous hospital stay, supporters left messages of encouragement and prayers on her Myspace profile page.

“They’re so down to Earth,” said Toni Marek, a Victorian homemaker who met Carol Paul at a Houston campaign rally in February. “I’ve met politicians who you can tell are politicians before you meet them, but they’re not like that.”

Since then, Marek had a few private meetings with the Pauls where she and Carol talked about the struggles of being stay-at-home moms.

Before she was married and a mother of five, Carol grew up in Pittsburgh and graduated in 1956 from Ohio University with an associate’s degree in secretarial studies, and a minor in home economics.

The Pauls started their relationship when she asked him to a “Sadie Hawkins-type dance,” as she described her 16th birthday party in a March 16, 2007, blog post at DailyPaul.com, an unofficial Web site to promote Paul’s run for president.

Married in 1957, the husband and wife moved to Texas in 1968 when Paul, who worked as a obstetrician gynecologist, relocated his medical practice to Brazoria County.

Ron and Carol compiled a cookbook for each campaign, featuring family and supporters’ recipes, and distributed them as part of the campaign materials.

“I always get her to sign my cookbook first, before Paul,” Marek said.

The cookbook is 20 to 30 pages in length and printed like a pamphlet.

Marek admires Carol Paul for her consistent support of Ron Paul.

“Look at it from her side, he’s going, going, going. And she’s had to sacrifice for that. She gives up a lot of time from her marriage, her husband, so that he can campaign,” Marek said. “But then again, she does spend a lot of time with him.”