Pennsylvania Democrat Senator John Fetterman is off to a rough start to his term in the U.S. Senate. He was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded. Wednesday night he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for severe clinical depression.
According to a statement from Fetterman’s office, he was evaluated by the Attending Physician of the US Congress, who recommended inpatient care at Walter Reed.
“While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks.”
Depression is common in stroke survivors, who are emotionally dealing with new physical and mental limitations they didn’t have previously while also undertaking various therapeutic modalities to regain as much functionality as they can. Post-stroke depression can also be caused by stroke-induced chemical changes in the brain.
According to reports, his wife and staff know the Democrat Senator is seriously ill yet they keep pushing him to the point of breaking him, even though they knew he was “crippled” by ‘severe’ depression since winning the November election in addition to his other health challenges.
According to TGP:
Fetterman had not previously disclosed to the public that he had depression, just as he did not come clean on his health for years regarding his heart disease or how damaging last year’s stroke was. Fetterman now has a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted. It was only recently reported that he has “serious mental health challenges” from the stroke that have taken a “psychological toll” on him.
Fetterman also did not disclose that doctors at George Washington University Hospital where he was treated last week for “lightheadedness” advised that he seek “outpatient care for mental health.” NBC reporter Dasha Burns reported that on Friday and that Fetterman’s staff knew he had depression and was having trouble dealing with him because they couldn’t tell if his silence was from stroke effects or that he was “crippled” by depression. Burns reported the staff is “relieved” he is getting help. Burns said Fetterman and his staff were “surprised by the severity of the depression” after Fetterman won his Senate race last November, indicating that this severe depression has been known about but untreated for months.
Burns also reported a senior aide told her Fetterman would be hospitalized for several weeks while doctors tried out medications and dosages on Fetterman.
Morning Joe video report cued to talk about the treatment plan and staff difficulties:
In fact, Burns also tweeted out some of what the aide told her:
NEW: A senior aide to Senator Fetterman tells me he will likely be in inpatient care for clinical depression for “a few weeks.” A senior aide says it’s been difficult to distinguish the stroke from the depression – saying it’s hard to tell at times if Fetterman is “not hearing you, or is he sort of crippled by his depression and social anxiety.”
“A senior aide tells me both the staff and Fetterman himself were taken by surprise by the severe onset of depression. The aide also says this hasn’t compromised his ability to do the job going forward, and he will be back to work once he has taken care of his mental health.”
In November, a Fetterman advisor admitted, after his victory, he would not be able to perform his job as normal.
Sources: TheGatewayPundit, CNN, NBC News
