Gisele Fetterman shares window into family since husband's hospitalization

After U.S. Sen. John Fetterman last week checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression treatment, his wife, Gisele, found her home circled by media trucks.

In a series of tweets Friday morning, Gisele Fetterman explained how her children were home from school and her home surrounded by press when the public heard the news that her husband was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., seeking help for his mental health.

Gisele Fetterman said she “did the first thing I could think of,” which was pack her kids into the car and take a road trip.

I am not really sure how to navigate this journey but am figuring it out slowly. 1 week ago today when the news dropped, the kids were off from school and media trucks circled our home. I did the first thing I could think of … pack them in the car and drive.

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

The family drove into Canada and “talked about lots of hard things and how we will all have to face hard things,” and “the need to be gentle … with all and with ourselves,” the senator’s wife wrote in a tweet.

“We did some scary things but we did them together,” she said, sharing a photo and video clip from a ziplining experience over Niagara Falls. “We talked about flexibility and the need to always have an open heart and an open mind. We also talked about how joy and fun can and must still exist, even when someone we love is in pain.”

We did some scary things but we did them together. We ziplined over Niagara Falls and August got stuck ????. We talked about flexibility and the need to always have an open heart and an open mind. pic.twitter.com/IyuvBBXaOe

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

The freshman senator “has experienced depression off and on throughout his life,” but began struggling with “severe” depression only in recent weeks, his staff said last week.

Fetterman suffered a near-fatal stoke in May and has since had auditory processing issues as a result. He has used a tablet with closed captioning on the Senate floor.

Earlier this month, Fetterman was hospitalized after feeling lightheaded during a Senate Democratic retreat. He underwent several tests, and doctors ruled out another stroke.

His wife last week tweeted that she was proud of her husband for “asking for help and getting the care he needs.”

Depression is common for stroke survivors and often is caused by biochemical changes in the brain resulting from a stroke, according to the American Stroke Association.

“I am not really sure how to navigate this journey but am figuring it out slowly,” Gisele Fetterman wrote on social media.