As Assembly leaders wrestled for votes to pass an $11 billion water bond early Wednesday morning, Tom Berryhill was resting in his Modesto home.

The Republican assemblyman was bed-ridden, with what he thinks might have been the swine flu. Still, Berryhill, who has a heart transplant, says he was ready to make the more than hour drive to the Capitol, should leaders have needed his vote.

"I was a phone call away from getting up and coming up there," said Berryhill, whose district includes parts of Madera County.

Turns out they didn't need his vote, as the bond squeaked through with the bare minimum votes just before the sun rose after a marathon session.

Berryhill says he's feeling better now.