Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. called me early this morning from his hospital room at Westchester Square Medical Center in the Bronx, where he said he has been since Thursday when he sought treatment for crippling stomach pain.

The outspoken Bronx Democrat said he hasn’t eaten since arriving at the hospital (he’s hooked up to an IV) and is yet uncertain when he will be released.

It’s possible, he said, that he will be transferred to Columbia Medical Center for further tests later today. It’s also possible that he will get to go home, although he has not yet received a diagnosis.

Diaz Sr. said he’s “keeping my fingers crossed” about getting out of the hospital in time to make it to Albany to vote on the next round of budget extenders, adding: “I want to be there; I want to be there.”

If he doesn’t make it to the Capitol in time for the vote, it could be very problematic, since he the Democrats will lack the 32 votes they need to pass anything.

There is a precedent for the vote being held open to accommodate an ailing lawmaker – recall that was done last summer for Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, who was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains and wheeled into the Senate chamber to cast her budget votes en masse.

The catch is that lawmakers have to be in their seats to cast votes and cannot merely be carded in, thanks to reforms instituted several years ago. So, if Diaz Sr. can’t make even the briefest of appearances in the chamber, it could be a real problem.

The GOP voted in a bloc against the last extender, which included Gov. David Paterson’s controversial state worker furlough plan that has since been blocked by US District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn and is headed for a hearing on May 26.

The latest round of extenders, which Paterson sent to the Legislature late yesterday, will include the 4 percent raises for unionized public employees that went into effect on April 1.

The governor had wanted to freeze those raises, but was informed by Kahn that he did not have the power to do so.

Some Senate Republicans had been voting “yes” on extenders prior to the furlough issue, so it’s not a foregone conclusion that they will not provide sufficient votes to help the Democrats on Monday if Diaz Sr. is unable to attend the session.

A vote on a separate piece of legislation Paterson will be sending up to delay $1.5 billion worth of education aid payments to school districts could be more problematic – particularly since this is an election year and few lawmakers are going to want to take that potentially troublesome vote.

UPDATE: Senate Majority Spokesman Austin Shafran says Diaz’s potential absence will not impact the education legislation.  The Senate is not going to vote on that bill Monday because it deals with funds that will be distributed next month, and they hope to have budget passed by then.

Diaz Sr. told me he has been in contact with Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson. Sampson spokesman Paul Rivera said the leader plans to visit Diaz Sr. in the hospital today.

Rivera said Sampson’s main concern at this moment is for Diaz Sr.’s health, and issues with the budget extenders will be dealt with as necessary.

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