People have all sorts of ways of dealing with stress.

Last week we learned that Sen. John Fetterman was being admitted to the hospital to deal with serious depression which was connected to his struggles to perform his job. He’s still dealing with ongoing auditory/language problems from a stroke which nearly killed him prior to last year’s election. And there’s some indication that the stress of continuing campaign followed by the stress of starting work in a new job has set back his recovery, maybe even permanently. At the time Fetterman’s wife asked for privacy.

This is a difficult time for our family, so please respect our privacy. For us, the kids come first.
 
Take care of yourselves. Hold your loved ones close, you are not alone.❤️

— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) February 16, 2023

It’s obviously a very sad story and it turns out he’s been trying to deal with a lot of this on his own because during the week his wife and children are not around.

Fetterman was spending his weekdays alone, apart from his wife and three children, who are still in Braddock, Pennsylvania. For most of the week, he doesn’t have his loved ones by his side, the people with whom he could safely pull off the mask. Instead, he had to perform all day long, then return to an empty home.

I’m just guessing but maybe Fetterman and his wife decided they didn’t want to pull their kids out of the familiar life and the schools they were accustomed to. That makes sense but on the other hand asking a man who is struggling with serious problems to, effectively, go it alone seems like a tough call to make. Maybe he was too optimistic about his recovery. Maybe that’s part of the reason for the depression.

In any case, when Fetterman was admitted to the hospital I assumed his wife would be there holding his hand, so to speak. Apparently she is now but today she revealed that when word broke last week she packed up the car and headed in the opposite direction, to Canada.

We drove straight into … Canada (and lovely Buffalo NY) (Pro Tip: always have passports ready just in case you have to run away 😅) We talked about lots of hard things and how we will all have to face hard things. About the need to be gentle … with all and with ourselves. pic.twitter.com/0PWQXHrbqT

— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) February 24, 2023

We also talked about how joy and fun can and must still exist, even when someone we love is in pain. And tomorrow? Who knows. Will try all over again. ❤️

— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) February 24, 2023

I understand the impulse to flee the media and to have time to talk with your kids about what is happening. The part I don’t get is heading north. Why not make the equally long drive to Washington DC so the kids could see their dad? Was Fetterman in some kind of isolation? Maybe. I don’t know. His doctors have said he’s going to be hospitalized for a few weeks but they haven’t said anything about visitors. I guess you never really know how you’ll handle something until something happens to you.

It’s worth noting that these tweets were tagged as coming from North Bethesda, MD which is where Walter Reed hospital is located. So she’s with him now.

Gisele Fetterman’s tweets have already accumulated thousands of likes and hundreds of supportive messages so I guess a lot of people can relate. I wish the Fettermans well. They are clearly going through a lot and some things, like heath and family, are more important than politics.