The recent health struggles of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., highlight the difficulties we still have in talking about mental health issues.
Mr. Fetterman suffered a very serious stroke several months before the critical Senate election in Pennsylvania last year. He has since struggled in his rehabilitation — and despite winning the Senate seat, he is now hospitalized and is receiving treatment for severe depression.
After his stroke last year, there was much debate on whether he should continue his campaign. Fox News treated him with derision, masked as pity. This is no surprise, since many of its pundits most resemble a pack of jackals.
As a fellow physician, I was much more disappointed in Dr. Mehmet Oz. He was the Republican candidate and obviously wanted to win — but he is also a doctor and could have handled the discussion with more professionalism and compassion.
The Democratic Party circled the wagons around Fetterman and declared that anyone who questioned his capacity to serve was heartless and against all stroke survivors. This was clearly untrue.
The fact is that there were legitimate concerns about Mr. Fetterman’s health and his prospective role in the Senate, given the severity of his stroke and resultant neurologic deficits — just as in 1972, when there were realistic questions about Democratic vice-presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton, a man who had twice suffered depression severe enough to require electroshock therapy and might soon be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
We first need to stop the shouting and begin to listen to each other, learn from each other, and talk about these questions and decisions in an open and informed way. That is the essence of caring.
Louis Meyers, M.D.
South Burlington
