Newly-elected Senator John Fetterman has remained hospitalized since Feb. 16 after checking himself into Walter Reed Medical Center for severe depression.
Fetterman, if you recall, suffered a stroke back in May of last year before heavily hitting the campaign trail against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat left vacant by the retiring Pat Toomey.
The result was a tumultuous campaign and glaringly blatant health limitations that left Fetterman unable to engage in conversation and unable to articulately string words together into sentences. It was painfully obvious to most observers that the former mayor of Braddock, Pa., was being pushed along by his wife and those around him to continue with the campaign despite his major health challenges.
Fetterman was hospitalized just over a week ago after being sworn-in to his Senate seat and the story keeps getting more bizarre.
According to some reports, Fetterman could now be looking at months in the hospital:
A source familiar with the matter told CNN’s Manu Raju last week that it’s unclear how long Fetterman might stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He could potentially stay for a month or so, the source said, or he could leave sooner than that, or maybe a little later. It will take time for him to get the right medication he needs for his treatment, the source said.
There is no general rule about how long someone hospitalized with depression should stay in the hospital, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Patients may stay a few days or as long as a few weeks.
“In someone who has pre-existing depression, it is possible that they may be more treatment resistant and have a history of failing medications. So as a result, they may require more aggressive treatment that can take several weeks and even into several months, depending on how they present,” said Dr. Daniel Bober, a psychiatrist in Hollywood, Florida.
In another strange twist, his wife, Gisele, has fled to Canada citing concerns over privacy:
Gisele Fetterman recently posted on social media, explaining the journey her and her children have been on since Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized for clinical depression.
On Friday, the Senator’s wife took to Twitter and Facebook to discuss a spontaneous getaway that she took with their children after trying to escape the media’s eye when multiple media trucks began circling their home.
The mother of two decided to take their children to Canada to help them decompress after the recent news of their father’s health made national news.
The family were able to enjoy ziplining over Niagara Falls while having heart to hearts about their current situation.
Sure, people react to grief differently but that seems like an awfully strange reaction to leave the country and take kids out of school in the middle of February because your husband is stuck in a Maryland hospital. Wanting privacy is understandable but a basic level of transparency would’ve been enough to satisfy a friendly media and quell the frenzy. What’s also strange is that during the campaign, Gisele never left her husband’s side. Now, when he’s laid up and unable to function, she’s literally on a vacation without him.
The Fetterman camp has never been about transparency but notably the lack thereof. Everything about John Fetterman’s stroke and ongoing health battles has been downplayed by the campaign and hidden from public consumption. It’s the situation that led the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Fetterman’s hometown liberal newspaper, to endorse Dr. Oz citing Fetterman’s propensity to lie to voters before he even gets into office.
While his family spends time touring Niagara Falls, John Fetterman remains hospitalized for depression, apparently. Other than that, few details have been released. It would seem that after giving him a chance, his constituents in Pennsylvania deserve a bit more information about their newly-elected Senator.
Rumors continue to abound including claims that Fetterman is essentially brain dead to the possibility he’s being treated for issues far more serious than depression, all of which is being hidden to avoid a special election according to unconfirmed speculation:
A viral tweet from John Cardillo, a former NYPD officer turned conservative radio host and social-media influencer, called for an investigation into whether Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., may be clinically brain dead as Democrats engage in a cover-up to avoid a special election… https://t.co/ahznRooXEX pic.twitter.com/SYl7Nf8Lo9
— ?? Rich Howard ?? (@WylieGuide) February 26, 2023
Any forthcoming answers surrounding John Fetterman’s health seem unlikely to surface any time soon. Until then, Pennsylvania is left with one functioning Senator.
