U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is easing back into public activities after his recent lung surgery sidelined him for part of the August congressional break.

The Kentucky Republican is set to deliver a speech Tuesday at a chamber of commerce luncheon in southern Kentucky. It marks his first public appearance since part of his lung was removed at a Tennessee hospital. The senator says the surgery stemmed from injuries suffered when a neighbor tackled him while he was doing yard work at his Kentucky home in late 2017.

Initially, most of Paul�s August travel plans were canceled due to the operation more than a week ago at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. But his recovery has progressed faster than expected, allowing him to go to Williamsburg for the chamber event on Tuesday.

�I�m actually doing pretty well,� Paul said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Monday, his first since the surgery. �And like anybody else who�s used to being active, it�s hard to sit still. I�m ready to get back in the mix of things and to start traveling around the state some.�

His schedule will be scaled back considerably from what had been planned before the surgery, with just a handful of appearances planned in the next two weeks.

He�ll return to Washington in September when Congress reconvenes, and by then �I shouldn�t have any limitations,� Paul said.

The surgery became necessary after he had struggled with what turned out to be a lingering infection in the damaged lung, the senator said.

During his recovery, it wasn�t all well-wishers reacting to his surgery on social media, he said. Paul said he was targeted by some detractors, adding: �We have some real strong hate going on out there.�

A former presidential hopeful, Paul acknowledged that the social media vitriol comes from both ends of the political spectrum, saying: �I think it is important that we all sort of calm our rhetoric down.�

The senator�s attacker, Rene Boucher, pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress and received a 30-day prison sentence. Federal prosecutors have appealed, saying 21 months would have been appropriate. Paul sued Boucher, and a jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, awarded the senator more than $580,000 in damages and medical expenses. Boucher has since sold his home next door to the senator.

The overheated rhetoric swirling on social media hasn�t affected Paul�s long-term political plans, with the senator saying that �unless something should change, I am planning on running for reelection� in 2022. Paul is now in his second term.

While he was recovering, the nation was rocked by mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

Paul, a strong gun-rights advocate, signaled his willingness to support something along the lines of �red flag� laws that allow guns to be removed from those who may be a danger to themselves and others.

�I�m not opposed to sort of an emergency order for 48 hours and then you get a hearing in a court where you get the full due-process protections,� he said in the interview. �It�s the one thing that could fix a lot of stuff. I think most of these homicidal attackers … are sending off signals to their family and community.�

(AP)