WASHINGTON – Nearly a year after a major stroke forced Sen. Mark Kirk to re-learn how to walk, he plans to scale 45 steps at the Capitol on Thursday morning to attend the start of the new Congress.

Kirk, a 53-year-old Republican, is expected to be welcomed on the steps by two prominent Democrats: Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Dick Durbin, Kirk’s Illinois colleague.

“It’s going to be emotional for a lot of people,” said Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who was the first Illinois lawmaker to visit a recovering Kirk back in March. “We’ve all been waiting a long time, we’ve been cheering him on, we’ve been praying for him.”