Sen. John Fetterman has said the stroke that nearly derailed his successful Senate bid last year killed him “technically” but also left him unafraid of dying.
“I didn’t have a near-death experience, because technically I had died,” Fetterman, now 54, told Men’s Health of the medical episode two days before his Democratic primary victory that left him hospitalized.
“It wasn’t like seeing lights or anything like that, but I felt like everything was tied to things, that everything was coming up, and that I was going to climb into a window towards the sky.”
The then-lieutenant governor of the Keystone State recalled being awakened by a doctor brandishing an X-ray and assuring him, “We’ve got it, you don’t have to worry about your stroke.”
“Middle-aged people talk about their mortality. “I’ve experienced my mortality, so I’m not afraid of it anymore,” said Fetterman (D-Pa.).
The Pennsylvania senator opened up about his painful experience with a stroke and his mental health. AP Fetterman said he doesn’t fear mortality after his stroke. The Washington Post via Getty Images
The father of three also recalled vivid details of the day he suffered the stroke.
“I was getting into my truck after using the men’s room at a Sheetz, and my wife, Gisele, said, ‘Oh my God, you’re having a stroke.’ And I said, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ This side of my face was droopy,” she explained.
“I was in the process of dying,” he continued. “If all this had happened while I was sleeping, I would never have woken up. Or if we were in a remote part of Pennsylvania, I wouldn’t have made it.”
John Fetterman wearing a suit in a somewhat unusual event in the Senate. Getty Images
After sitting out the campaign for nearly three months, Fetterman believed he had missed his chance to defeat the Republican candidate, famed heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to win, because we were getting… it was a blowtorch. ‘You’re a retard.’ ‘You’re a vegetable,’” Fetterman recalled.
“At that point, I almost stopped eating. I was dehydrated,” he continued. “You’d think, ‘Hey, you won,’ and he was good. But it was not like that. It was confusing and painful for my kids because they thought, ‘You won.’ What’s wrong with you? What’s happening to us?'”
The Pennsylvania Democrat was coy about whether he intends to run for re-election in 2028. The Washington Post via Getty Images
The stroke has left Fetterman affected by auditory processing challenges, forcing him to use closed-caption monitors to follow what people are saying.
Fetterman entered Walter Reed Army Medical Center in February to receive treatment for depression before returning to the Senate in April. He told Men’s Health that he believes he suffered from some type of “melancholy” since his childhood.
“My origin story is more complicated, because I was an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy of two teenagers who were just casually dating,” she explained.
During that difficult time, John Fetterman recalled that he did not want his children to see him while he was undergoing treatment for depression. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
“I always felt a sense of responsibility or shame, because essentially I was a mistake. That’s why I’ve never been able to have more than a low opinion of myself.”
Fetterman credited his wife for being “incredibly supportive” and praised President Biden for being “beyond kind, supportive and decent.”
“We have become a small suicide hotline. I receive a lot of messages on Twitter,” said his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman. “He’s on Zoom with people. Complete strangers. It happens every week, whether it’s someone who decided to go get help or finally decided to go to therapy.”
In addition to expressing gratitude for his recovery, Fetterman was grateful that his father, who is 73 years old and suffered a near-fatal heart attack days before the interview, is recovering.
“I can’t imagine what it would have done to me if my father’s heart attack had happened six months ago. So fortunately I have been able to return to 100%,” he stated. “When I go to visit him, it is a religious experience. Really is.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn