Senator John Fetterman ready to make up for ‘lost time’ after hospital discharge | US News

just went discharged from the hospital Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman underwent six weeks of treatment for mental depression. [for] lost time”.

“My dream is to go to the restaurant I was supposed to take my son to. [to] During his birthday, I was checking myself in for depression, so I couldn’t,” said the first-term Democratic senator. CBS News interview It was broadcast on Sunday. “And to be a worthy father, husband and senator to Pennsylvania.”

Fetterman’s remarks to CBS came days before Friday’s announcement that he had been discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., after being hospitalized for more than a month. In an interview, he spoke candidly about the circumstances that led him to seek hospital treatment for depression.

In November, former Mayor Braddock, 53, said: pennsylvania, the former lieutenant governor, known for wearing shorts and a hooded sweatshirt, defeated Republican celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz to win a Senate seat. Fetterman’s victory over former President Donald Trump-backed Oz helped Democrats control the Senate by 51 to 49 seats, cementing his status as a rising star in his party. bottom.

But during the campaign, Fetterman, also known for his impressive 6-foot-8-inch build, had a stroke that he said nearly killed him. His medical ordeal required him to be hospitalized for some time, which Republicans tried to use to argue that he was unfit for public office.

medical professionals To tell One-third of stroke patients later develop symptoms of mental depression, and Fetterman personally suffered for years.

Then, when Fetterman was sworn into office on January 3, those around him noticed that he appeared to be emotionally distressed. He stopped exercising, lost weight, and was having trouble finding the energy to get out of bed. I avoided spending time with my three children, ages 14 to 14.

“The whole thing about depression is that, objectively, you could have won. [the Senate seat] – but depression can convince you that you have actually lost,” Fetterman said in an interview on Sunday. bottom.”

Gisele Barrett-Fetterman told CBS that at first she had a hard time understanding what her husband was so depressed about. and are you still depressed?

But she said she read as much as she could about depression and learned that the very nature of the complex condition meant it. Not reasonable. ”

Fetterman checked into Walter Reed Medical Center on February 15 for clinical depression treatment.

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The Democrat’s recent hospitalization sparked political fire from the Republican side of the aisle, which continued to hurl slurs about his fitness.

But while the six-week hospital stay is longer than what’s typical for inpatient treatment for depression, many others have praised Fetterman for publicly disclosing that he’s been treated. They said Fetterman’s choice could inspire people who need help and are afraid to get it to overcome their resistance.

“My message right now is not political,” Fetterman said in an interview on Sunday. “I am one of those who suffer from depression.”

Fetterman returned home on Sunday and, according to his office, intended to return to Capitol Hill for when the Senate was due to resume its work on April 17. We expect Fetterman to vote for several nominations in the struggling House of Representatives.