Fetterman will have announcement 'soon’ on return to campaign trail

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman went to an appointment Wednesday afternoon at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital, his first follow-up visit since being discharged from the hospital after being treated there for a stroke.

He was seen by the same physicians who cared for him last month.

The 52-year-old Fetterman’s doctors are “very happy with how he is healing” from his stroke, his wife, Gisele, said in an exclusive interview with POLITICO.

“The neurologists, they were really impressed with the progress. Cognitively, he’s perfect and well on his way to a full recovery,” said Gisele Fetterman. “Everything went well with the cardiologists. His heart is looking good. Pacemaker is working as it’s supposed to."

However, Gisele Fetterman said her husband’s doctors “want him to continue to rest.”

Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, has been recuperating at his home in Braddock since being released from the hospital late last month following his stroke. The incident took place just days before he won the Senate primary with nearly 59 percent of the vote.

Fetterman said in a previous statement that atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm also known as “A-fib,” led to the stroke. He said doctors "quickly and completely" removed the blood clot, and that he had no cognitive damage. They later implanted a pacemaker with a defibrillator into his heart.

Gisele Fetterman said Wednesday that his physicians did not say when he can return to the trail. However, she said, “the campaign will have an announcement for that soon.”

Pennsylvania’s Senate election is one of the most hotly contested races in the country this year — control of the Senate could hinge on it. Holding onto the seat now occupied by retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey is key to Republicans’ path to regaining a majority. For Democrats, it is considered one of the party’s best Senate pickup opportunities.

It is not yet clear which GOP candidate Fetterman will face in the fall. Republicans Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick are currently locked in a recount, leaving the Senate contest in an unusual state of limbo in both parties.

Despite multiple requests, Fetterman’s campaign has not allowed reporters to interview his physicians. But some outside doctors have been quoted in media reports saying that defibrillators are not used to treat atrial fibrillation, and questioning whether Fetterman has an additional heart condition that has not yet been disclosed.

Gisele Fetterman has said previously that is not the case. Asked if doctors revealed any new heart condition on Wednesday, she said no.

“Not at all,” she said. “The heart’s working great. The pacemaker helps regulate the A-fib.”

As for when the press will be able to talk to Fetterman’s physicians, she said, “We’re working on that. That is coming next.”

Gisele Fetterman also spoke about the changes that her husband has made to his health since his stroke. She said he has dramatically changed his diet.

“The diet is different for sure,” she said. “Very low sodium levels. He’s monitoring that. Eating a lot more of greens and folic acid and B-12, those kinds of things.”

She said her husband has also returned to walking. He has always been a “big walker,” she said, but that became more difficult for him to do in the winter, as well as in the final months of the campaign. Now, she said, “The walking has returned full-force. He’s back to his usual mile walk.”

Fetterman has been taking blood thinners since his stroke. No new medications were prescribed during his Wednesday follow-up, Gisele Fetterman said.

Overall, she said, her husband is “feeling great — he’s anxious and annoying and wants to be doing everything, so, you know, it’s like old times.”

He has been running errands and spending time with their three children, she said.

Fetterman has been returning to some of his campaign duties. Gisele Fetterman said her husband is expected to speak with President Joe Biden this week, a call that had to be delayed twice previously because he was resting.

She said he has filmed several videos, has been “reading everything nonstop,” and held a meeting with his senior campaign staff Wednesday.

“Less than three weeks ago, he had a stroke. So I think it’s really remarkable how much he is doing,” she said.

On Wednesday, she added, doctors also removed their previous restriction on him doing heavy lifting.

“He can’t get away with not doing any housework anymore,” she said.