Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday after being treated for depression.
Fetterman’s office said in a news release that he is in remission following treatment for depression, and is currently in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
“I am so happy to be home. I am excited to be the father and husband that I want to be, and the senator that Pennsylvania deserves. Pennsylvanians have always supported me and I will always have theirs,” Fetterman said.
“I am extremely grateful to the amazing team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life. I’ll have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable and treatment works. This is Not About Politics: There are people suffering from depression in red and blue counties right now. If you need help, get help,” he added.
Fetterman is coming off a stroke in May of last year while running for a US Senate seat.
Side effects of the stroke included “auditory processing disorder,” but his campaign and doctors insisted he has “no work restrictions” and can work in public office.
During the campaign, Fetterman faced only Republican Mehmet Oz in a debate on October 25, and had trouble communicating effectively, using closed captioning because of his limited auditory processing ability.
Defeating Oz in the midterms, Fetterman took office in January, being admitted to a hospital for severe depression just a month later, Fox News reported.
The staff detailed that Fetterman was not his usual self for weeks, describing him as withdrawn, with a disinterest in talking, eating, and the usual banter he played with his assistants.
After being hospitalized, Fetterman has missed 53 of 64 Senate roll-call votes in February and March.