The Associated Press has reported that Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized this week.
According to the news service, Fetterman's office released a statement on Thursday evening explaining that the lawmaker had undergone an MRI at George Washington University Hospital.
Joe Calvello serves as Fetterman's communications director, and he said a stroke had been ruled out. Calvello noted that the senator was being monitored with an electroencephalogram (EEG) to look for evidence of a seizure.
"So far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored," the spokesman was quoted as saying. He went on to add that Fetterman was "in good spirits and talking with his staff and family."
Fetterman went to the hospital on Wednesday after he experienced an episode of lightheadedness while attending a Democratic retreat in Washington.
This is far from being the first time that Fetterman's health has been called into question as it became a major issue in his election campaign when he suffered a stroke last May.
Fox News reported at the time that Fetterman released a statement in which he credited his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, with saving his life.
"On Friday, I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to the hospital to get checked out," Fetterman said on May 12. "I didn’t want to go – I didn’t think I had to – but Gisele insisted, and as usual, she was right."
"I hadn't been feeling well, but was so focused on the campaign that I ignored the signs and just kept going. On Friday it finally caught up with me," Fetterman continued.
"I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long. Fortunately, Gisele spotted the symptoms and got me to the hospital within minutes," he stated.
Fetterman's ability to understand and respond to questions was severely compromised by his stroke, a fact which became evident during his debate with Republican challenger Mehmet Oz. In a bizarre move, Fetterman began the event by saying, "Hi. Good night everybody."
Fetterman opens the debate:
"Hi. Good night everybody." pic.twitter.com/mg0X3Iwf5D
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
What's more, Fetterman became incoherent when a moderator asked how he could reconcile his professed support for fracking with previous calls to ban it.
Fetterman just melts down after a long pause when confronted about his flip flopping on fracking. pic.twitter.com/ceGtuNt61J
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) October 26, 2022