Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania suffered a stroke while campaigning for his present position in the United States Senate. Despite some of the consequences of the stroke, he resumed his campaign and won the seat. The stresses of both the campaign and the job have made his transition from candidate to senator more difficult, according to The New York Times.

“What you’re supposed to do to recover from this is do as little as possible,” his chief of staff Adam Jentleson said. He said Sen. Fetterman “was forced to do as much as possible — he had to get back to the campaign trail. It’s hard to claw that back.” “It is stressful, having to go through that experience in the context of the most high-profile Senate race in the country,” he said.

Fetterman’s campaign spent the whole campaign asserting that their candidate was fit to serve in the Senate and had no outstanding health problems. However, the senator was brought to the hospital on Wednesday after “feeling lightheaded,” though his staff claims he did not have another stroke, according to The Washington Post and Conservative Brief.

Mr. Fetterman declined to be interviewed for this story. But aides and confidantes describe his introduction to the Senate as a difficult period, filled with unfamiliar duties that are taxing for someone still in recovery: meetings with constituents, attending caucus and committee meetings, appearing in public at White House events and at the State of the Union address, as well as making appearances in Pennsylvania.

His hearing is severely impaired due to a neurological problem. Mr. Fetterman has auditory processing problems, therefore he must rely mostly on a tablet to copy what is spoken to him. The hearing problems are erratic, and they frequently worsen when he is in a stressful or new scenario. When it’s awful, Mr. Fetterman compares it to attempting to understand the muffled voice of the instructor in the “Peanuts” cartoon, whose words were never understood.

“He has had to come to terms with the fact that he may have set himself back permanently by not taking the recommended amount of rest during the campaign. And he continues to push himself in ways that people close to him worry are detrimental,” The Times said.

According to Breitbart News, a Fetterman advisor revealed in November that following his triumph, he will be unable to fulfill his job as usual.

Because of his limitations, he has not been able to speak to reporters at the Capitol as he walks from room to room. “Before the stroke, he was the kind of person who loved the give-and-take with reporters,” his chief of staff said. “The challenge is to be able to get back to that place, given the current limitations.”

Last week, Fetterman was once again admitted to the hospital with what he called “lightheadedness. After a brief stay, Fetterman is headed back to the Senate. “A few minutes ago, Senator Fetterman was discharged from the hospital. In addition to the CT, CTA, and MRI tests ruling out a stroke, his EEG test results came back normal, with no evidence of seizures. John is looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday,” his spokesman Joe Calvello said on Twitter.

NEWS: A few minutes ago, Senator Fetterman was discharged from the hospital.

In addition to the CT, CTA and MRI tests ruling out a stroke, his EEG test results came back normal, with no evidence of seizures.

John is looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday.

— Joe Calvello (@the_vello) February 10, 2023

“He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family. We will provide more information when we have it,” his communications director, Joe Calvello, said. He said “initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke” and that “doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation.”

The 53-year-old senator began day three in the hospital for what his staff described as “lightheadedness,” according to The New York Times, and some of those close to him are concerned about his health.

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

Even one of his Senate colleagues said that an adjustment has had to be made. “We’re going to have to learn our own styles with it,” Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar said after experimenting with the tablet at a Democratic caucus lunch. “What I was saying was accurate even when I talked fast. I wanted to make sure it was accurate. It was kind of to imagine what it would be like to be him.” “He answers like you would answer anyone,” she said. “It’s us that have to get used to it; he’s used to it,” Conservative Brief noted. CONTINUE READING…