Sen. John Fetterman Released from Hospital After Fall

Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) shared on Saturday that he has returned home following a serious fall that required nearly 20 stitches. He posted a graphic photo of his face, which was covered in dried blood.

“After 20 stitches and a full recovery, I’m back home with @giselefetterman and my kids,” the 56-year-old senator wrote on X. He expressed his overwhelming gratitude for the outpouring of support.

The image he shared showed visible injuries from the lower corner of his right eye up to his eyebrow, with blood crusted near his nose. Fetterman fell during a morning walk in Braddock, Pennsylvania, and a campaign spokesperson mentioned he was hospitalized “out of an abundance of caution.”

He was diagnosed with a relapse of “ventricular fibrillation,” a serious condition characterized by irregular heartbeats that can impede proper blood circulation. Fetterman mentioned feeling “dizzy” post-fall and he was treated at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

“If you thought I looked bad before, wait until you see it now!” Fetterman joked in a statement following the incident.

After receiving care, he thanked the medical team, saying, “Thank you @UPMC for the amazing medical care that got me back on track. Thank you so much. See you in DC,” he wrote on Saturday.

Fetterman, who often finds himself at odds with members of his own party, had previously suffered a stroke during his 2022 Senate campaign, which left him with lasting communication difficulties. Despite these challenges, he has made notable progress in recent years and spent six weeks at Walter Reed Medical Center in 2023 due to depression.

Interestingly, the fall happened just two days after a media tour for his memoir, “Unfettered,” which elaborates on his health challenges and experiences in politics, both in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

Fetterman also mentioned a source of tension with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, revealing that he once referred to Shapiro in unflattering terms. Their relationship soured during a 2020 Zoom hearing about commuting the sentences of two brothers convicted of murder, when Fetterman was lieutenant governor and Shapiro was governor. Fetterman felt that Shapiro’s lengthy statement before voting against the commutation infuriated Democrats, a decision the senator had supported.