WALLINGFORD, Pa. — A few minutes into his rally, John Fetterman told the crowd he wanted to address the “elephant in the room.”
“I had a stroke, you all know that,” the Democratic Senate nominee said here Saturday. “I gotta give a loco — excuse me — local shout out to Penn Medicine for saving my life.”
Fetterman, 53, explained that sometimes he stumbles over his words and has “auditory processing” issues. He asked rallygoers to raise their hand if they or someone they love had dealt with a serious health issue. Nearly every hand went up.
Since he suffered a stroke in May days before the primary, Fetterman and his allies have sought to make his recovery a lesson in empathy. The campaign has shared messages from people who say Fetterman inspired them to prioritize their own health. After his event Saturday, Fetterman knelt and spoke with a woman in a wheelchair who had also suffered a stroke.
Republicans, including Fetterman’s opponent, Mehmet Oz, have made the…
This article was written by Colby Itkowitz and originally published on www.washingtonpost.com