John Fetterman, Democratic Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, released from hospital after stroke
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has been released from the hospital more than a week after he had a stroke, his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman tweeted Sunday. Fetterman won the Democratic primary for Senate while he was in the hospital recovering.
Barreto Fetterman shared a video of her husband walking out of the hospital on Sunday, writing "time to rest and recover (and annoy me)!" The lieutenant governor retweeted the video, adding, "See yinz soon."
See yinz soon 🥰 https://t.co/gWOcwjXCEr
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) May 22, 2022
"I am feeling great, but per my doctor's orders, and Gisele's orders, I am going to continue to rest and recover. Later this week I will have a follow-up visit with my doctors at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital," Fetterman said in a statement. "I am going to take the time I need now to rest and get to 100% so I can go full speed soon and flip this seat blue."
One week ago, Fetterman revealed he had a stroke on Friday, May 13, caused by a blood clot from his heart. He said doctors were able to remove the clot to reverse the stroke and "got my heart under control." He said doctors told him he didn't suffer any cognitive damage.
"I'm well on my way to a full recovery," Fetterman wrote.
Last Tuesday, the lieutenant governor underwent an operation to install a pacemaker with a defibrillator. His wife tweeted afterwards, "Doc just called me, João's procedure is over and it was PERFECT!"
That same day was Pennsylvania's primary election. Fetterman easily defeated U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and tweeted a photo of himself earlier in the day voting from the hospital with an emergency absentee ballot.
His wife gave his victory speech Tuesday, since he was still hospitalized. The campaign also played a video of Fetterman thanking supporters.
"This race we're running is a race for the future," said Barreto Fetterman. "It's a race for every job that has been lost, every factory that has been closed, every cost that has been rising, every worker that can't keep up. It's a race for a better Pennsylvania."
President Biden sent out a message congratulating Fetterman, saying, "Democrats are united around John, who is a strong nominee, will run a tough race, and can win in November."
Caroline Linton contributed reporting.