My heart goes out to Sen. John Fetterman and his family. I applaud the support pouring in from both sides of the aisle.
Like Fetterman, I suffer from chronic cardiomyopathy, necessitating an ICD-pacemaker when I was 33. A heart attack in my 50s left me depressed and needing medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy. I still have bouts of anxiety and PTS, especially after receiving therapeutic shocks. Further, for over 30 years I held highly stressful jobs as a teacher in three school districts and an instructor at three colleges.
Based on my experience with cardiomyopathy and stress, I believe that Fetterman’s running for senator was short-sighted and will continue to prove problematic. Knowing the seriousness of his health problems, Fetterman should have had the magnanimity to bow out of the race from the beginning. His family, supporters and doctors should have encouraged him to do so as well.
My heart warms as colleagues and competitors alike gather around him. Yes, we must empathize with his misfortune. But the most profitable thing supporters can do is to encourage him to bow out of the madness of Washington politics for now, and get the help he, self-admittedly, needs.
Timothy Landy
Bullskin