Nov. 16 (UPI) — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has returned home from a Pittsburgh hospital after being treated for a fall last week during a morning walk.
“20 stitches later and a full recovery, I’m back home with @giselefetterman and the kids,” he wrote on X, tagging his wife in the post. The photo in the post shows a jagged cut that stretches from above the senator’s right eye, across his forehead and down onto his nose.
“I’m overwhelmed + profoundly grateful for all the well-wishes, ” he continued, and thanked medical professionals at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
A spokesman said Thursday that Fettermen fell during a walk near his Braddock, Pa., home and was transported to the hospital “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Upon evaluation, it was established he had a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that led to Senator Fetterman feeling light-headed, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries,” according to a spokesperson’s statement.
The spokesperson said doctors kept Fetterman in the hospital overnight to address his medication.
The fall is the latest in a series of medical incidents for Fetterman, who suffered a near-fatal stroke during the 2022 Senate campaign. He was fitted with a defibrillator-equipped pacemaker.
Fetterman’s speech on the campaign trail was noticeably slower and more deliberate, and during a senate with his opponent, Mehmet Oz, he stopped short during his answers to several questions.
The senator later said that he became depressed and acknowledged the toll the campaign took on his physical and mental health.
In 2023, Fetterman checked himself in to Walter Reed National Military Center to be treated for clinical depression and acknowledged how hard the 2022 campaign had been on his mental health.
Earlier this year, staff members said Fetterman had been acting recklessly and displayed volatile behavior, while some also questioned his fitness to serve in the Senate.