Hear what Dr. Gupta noticed in Fetterman interview

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks down an interview with Senate candidate John Fetterman (D). Fetterman is recovering from a stroke and used captioning software to understand an NBC reporter's questions. #CNN #News

68 comments

  1. Whoever is reading this, i pray that whatever you’re going through gets better and whatever you’re struggling with or worrying about is going to be fine and that everyone has a fantastic day! Amen

    1. @Pickle Rick Occasional headaches little light headed and of course anxiety but I’m laying in bed ok so far. I’m going for a speed walk at 17:30 before dinner, I have to het some cardio you can’t just lay around. I go about three times a week maybe four. This happened about mid September, I’m 56, not overweight and all my other arterys are fine from a healthy eating habit. They don’t know how it happened, I do party on (or did) Saturday nights with the guy’s, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, only once a week. I have a 11 kilo lifting restriction. They did say it could be from smoking or I did something strenuous. I think about it all day, it’s a drag really I’m not a old man I feel like NOW WHAT??

  2. So for the first time we’ll have someone in office who will be forced to read what’s in a bill that sounds like a great thing.

  3. I had a stroke 13 years ago that took away half of my field of vision (hemianopsia). It takes a period of time to learn to adjust and compensate but in no way does it impact my reasoning or judgement abilities

    1. @gacj2010 This is either regenerative or degenerative and you are correct, time will tell………..bit of a gamble ain’t it?

    2. @Sean McCartney Give him time for another election down the road.. John was not the optimum candidate AT THIS POINT IN TIME

  4. My daughter has auditory processing and dyslexia. Many wrote her off from before kindergarten. But my daughter found coping mechanisms, was a successful undergraduate student and is now working on her Master of Occupational Therapy and wants to assess infants and help children. She had the hard problem of auditory processing but couldn’t read things until middle school…

    1. Debbie Hernandez — this mom also said her daughter has an auditory processing disability, which is what Fetterman has. She’s saying that her daughter is thriving and, thus people shouldn’t write Fetterman off because his stroke is causing him to have the same issue. And Fetterman’s could completely recover from this, which would be lovely.
      However, even if he ends up not recovering 100%, he can still be successful. It hasn’t affected his ability to think and understand. Plus there are adaptations and accommodations that can help him. There’s no place that should be more willing to assist him than the Senate. After all, it passed the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

    2. ​@gacj2010 : No as in the original comment that you are responding to stated, she is in school working on her master’s degree, it appears that you have a reading comprehension problem you should see your doctor about.

    3. That’s awesome. I wish her the very best. Do you think she (at her worst) should represent people in the senate?

  5. I had a stroke back in 2007 and even though i have the entire top left of my brain as grey matter i can still make sound decisions,
    the only effect i have is forgetting simple words for a minute or two. Fetterman still gets my vote on Nov 8th.

    1. LOL funny. Good luck. I bet he medical retires if he is elected a week after he is sworn in. He needs medical help big time. I had a boss who had a Stroke and lost the use of her left arm and her right leg. Still don’t think she recovered enough to go back to work. She Tried, but had not healed or recovered enough.

    2. @Marc Lewis He’s been my lt gov since i moved to Pittsburgh and he sounds the same to me. who the F are you to tell me i’m the one who can’t make sound decisions when your the one who’ll vote for the guy behind the curtain? you’re the one living in fantasy land.

    1. @Peet Ky @Mary Brown The computer was a voice to text app he was reading from, you could see it coming on screen as she was talking. Hes not understanding spoken sentences so he has to read them completely before he answers and it was NBC who did the interview not CNN. They did edit the video to make it look as if he answered quickly but that same interviewer went on air in a separate piece and said he was barely there and it would sometimes take him minutes to answer. She definitely asked some tough questions. I dont think he was expecting that from NBC News. The debates should be interesting especially if he has to bring that computer with him.

  6. I think this man can function way better than some of the fools we have in the House and Senate right now.

    1. @Victor Johnson why is he a disgrace? He seems pretty endearing “Fetterman served as the part-time mayor of Braddock, and the full-time director of the city’s youth program. He also founded a nonprofit organization called Braddock Redux, which was used by Fetterman to acquire and save properties in Braddock

  7. When it comes to issues like these, the news media are disingenuous. It is their job to get the public to tune in to them, so they can sell advertising space and increase the profitability of their respective organizations. Plain and simple. Fetterman is recovering well and now that he is under treatment for the underlying cause of his stroke, he will continue to improve.

  8. Thank you for doing this analysis, Dr. Gupta. Both of my parents suffered major strokes from clots and were totally paralyzed on one side. They received the med in the Golden window and recovered their movement within a short time, aided by physical and occupation therapy in their 70s. I also felt that Fetterman had not lost his comprehension ability and now has an even greater compassion for those with disabilities and the need for greater access for all to good healthcare at a reasonable cost. I am in Ohio and would vote for him in a heartbeat.

    1. @Emil Ogborn compassion costs $0.00. you should invest more into it, seeing as it is free.

    2. @Thou shalt not suffer a fascist to live there is no compassion to someone who wants criminals on the streets with no bail. Or someone that believes no one should be in prison.

  9. Because we equate language with smarts, we often mistake people with aphasia or processing disorders as being stupid. Thank you, Dr. Gupta for pointing this out so well.

    1. @gacj2010 ​ what the actual crap?! Closed Captioning is used all the time for those who don’t hear, and they are 💯 as capable as those who do hear to be able to serve in office.

      Fetterman is like someone with temporary, & very mild dyslexia, but with what he hears & says, not what he reads. So #1, he’s improving all the time, and can expect to continue his improvement for up to 18 months after the stroke. #2, the few jumbled around or missed words are far from being frequent enough to make his speech difficult to understand, as an outsider. And as Dr. Gupta said, he responds right away to statements and questions from the interviewer, instead of needing to pause to work on comprehending what she had just said. That shows that he is either a speed reader, or that he is only using the Closed Captions as a clarifying backup option. Either way, his mind is sharp. He fully comprehends it all, and will not only make a competent US Senator, but he’ll make an exceptionally compassionate elected leader in Pennsylvania.

    2. @gacj2010 Excuse me? You have never seen a Senate “debate,” have you? There are supposed to be 100 senators there. There are usually around five. And frankly, a lot less “oration” in congressional committee hearings (as has been adhered to by the 1/6 Committee — Bravo!) would be welcome. They invite witnesses to give them information and then spend 90% of their time “orating” to produce sound bites for the TV stations back in their home states. Out of five minutes given each committee member for questioning, for eliciting the information the witness has been summoned to give, the witness gets about thirty seconds. I’d prefer the witness, who is supposed to be educating them, do the talking, thank you. Lt. Gov. Fetterman could easily get the witness’s testimony closed-captioned for as long as he needs that service.

      Speaking of which, you would not vote for a hearing-impaired candidate? A blind candidate? The people of PA are not hiring an airline pilot on November 8th, but a senator. What other office jobs with no physical activity involved would you leave off the list for those with a physical disability?

    3. @gacj2010 Nothing like mixing up quotations about roses, I always say. Gertrude Stein and Shakespeare are not the same person. Have you had a stroke recently? Perhaps that explains it. If so, I wish you a swift recovery, just like Lt. Gov. Fetterman’s.

  10. My friend was a successful architect when he had a stroke, he was in his 40s and he recovered from it and went on to become an even more accomplished architect. He still sometimes struggles with his words, but his mind is clear and focused, and he performs his work, with as much creative thinking as before his stroke. He had his stroke when he was working for a leading architectural firm, and after his stroke and his recovery, he opened his own company, & has his own team of architects, and with his leadership they have designed many buildings, and have won awards for their innovative designs. He did all that while at the same time he was raising on his own, two daughters.

    1. @R S thank god they don’t have the same requirement for congress otherwise Jewish space lazer lady would be out of a job.

    2. @LE You haven’t already embarrassed yourself enough after yet another bad assumptions about my not having dealt with the deaf community and keeping coming back, huh? It is obvious you are not dealing with reality and I think anyone who reads this can tell that. People make comments like “I pity you” and call you names like “narrow-minded” when they know they have lost the argument and don’t have the facts on their side.

      You also are tacitly agreeing me that his serious communication problems will be an embarrassment and serious impediment to his work as a senator, as you have not disputed this. We are not talking about trying to make an accommodation for a lower level position to help a person be able to function in society. We are talking about someone representing a state with a position that could bring 10’s to 100’s of millions of dollars in additional money per year.

      Luckily for the people of Pennsylvania, Oz is leading (after adjusting for past polling errors) and Real Clear Politics currently projects he will win by 2.4%. It amazes me that you care more about having someone with a disability in congress than the potentially 10’s of millions of dollars they will cost the state.

  11. I had a stroke in 2008. It left me in a wheelchair, unable to talk, or swallow (I took food and water in through a tube in my stomach). I still can’t talk and am still in a wheelchair but I can swallow again. I would release my medical records if I were him, but since every stroke is different, I met a woman who could not identify a cat or coat, but she could walk and talk. I always could identify a cat and coat. Every stroke is different, and every single Dr. really doesn’t know what is going on, and the public can’t determine how you will be in six months from your medical records. Most of my family physicians have never had a stroke victim as a patient, I am their first one, and have no idea of what to do. I studied about my stroke so I could tell my Dr. what to do. A Dr. who thinks they are God and know everything and I know nothing are a real threat to me. One thing that I can say is that nobody fully recovers in five months. It took me six months to use a walker, sit up on my own, and swallow. You get better forever, but it slows way down after six months. Fetterman is the worst he will ever be, if you think he will be a better Senator than Oz now, he will only be a better Senator than Oz six months from now. Fetterman will only get better and Oz will probably stay the same. By the looks of Fetterman he is not 100% but he is damn good.

  12. Thank you Dr. Gupta for informing the public that people with strokes can recover and they can have good cognition as well. This is a big problem with older individuals who have had a stroke and are characterized as having dementia or Alzheimer’s. The confusion is that stroke is not a disease that is progressive – unfortunately organizations like DMV and other public entities unjustly characterize older people in this way.

    1. @D.H. Uhhh, do you know how many other politicians need a computer to help debate a subject?  

      At least he’s dishonest about his medical issues, only after being called out by conservatives.

    2. @Nathan Bowen Doctor Oz saved over 100 lives with his college education by performing open heart surgery.
      What did Fatterman do with his HARVARD College degree(s)?
      Who did Fatterman help with his HARVARD College degree(s)?

    3. @G Eak 100 huh, how many has he hurt from the quack meds he pedals. Oprah won’t even stand up for him. My 80s there is a kid can’t remember his name but Google is awesome perform 60 some surgeries at the hospital he didn’t even have a degree. While we’re working on research we should should ask a couple of the bookstore warehouse worker kids how many trucks a load a day. Sounds to me like he should’ve helped a lot more than 100 people. Rock on

  13. I had a similar problem with processing words after a cerebral contusion that left some damage in the left parietal lobe. It took me six months to recover full functionality but eight years later I still struggle to recover words that were lost to memory from the accident and with each incident I have to determine what the word is, it’s meaning, etc and then put it back so that I can use it again the next time the situation arises. What Dr. Gupta says in your interview, seems right to me in my case. I would expect that Mr. Fetterman will be working on recovering full ability to process auditory communication for years and like me, can take comfort in the fact that cognitive processes are unimpaired. We have many senators and senator candidates who do exhibit significant deficits in cognitive processing so the addition of a new senator who has trouble understanding what they say and needs to have it written down would seem to be a big plus. He will be better able to make decisions based on reason rather than on rhetoric.

    1. Nice try! You probably don’t care much about his need for rest and time to get better, but rather partisan politics

  14. I feel for Fetterman and respect his wish not to release his medical records. His health issues are between him and his doctor and are not “owed” to anybody else, especially in today’s volatile partisan climate where things can easily be misread and exaggerated. I trust that Fetterman is an honorable guy who is being forthcoming about his challenges and wants to move forward to focus on the real issues.

    1. @Amy Wilson No my friend same age as Fetterman died from complications of several mini strokes later. Read up on Fetterman same story, several health scares almost yearly. My friend had problems similiar. Fetterman doesn’t look healthy.

    2. @Chad Midgley I said your friend probably died from the heart condition that caused the stroke – not an auditory processing disorder. So basically we agree on that. Did your friend get a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted like Fetterman, change his diet, exercise, take his medication, get regular medical follow ups? Fetterman is doing all of that now. His doctor issued a statement saying if Fetterman follows that advice, he’ll be fine. Fetterman had a heart condition prior to this but he didn’t have a stroke before this.

    3. He’s a democrat, last thing from honorable, when you go into public office. Nothing off limits, even medical records.

  15. This demonstrates how impressive this man is. He is dealing and winning at two incredible fights: Running for Senate and recovering from a stroke. His constituency should be PROUD!

  16. The human brain is so interesting & it’s ability to compensate & recover is amazing. Thanks for explaining this.

    1. It’s called brain plasticity! Also why kids born with Cerebral Palsy recover much faster and further than adults suffering strokes, brain plasticity is more enhanced the younger you are!

  17. As a counselor I have worked with many clients recovering from strokes. I know that it is hard for people to understand because the person “sounds” cognitively impaired, but often the person is not cognitively impaired. We have tests to figure out if someone is cognitively impaired.

    1. @CelticBearWoman Are you insinuating that his treatment providers are lying when they make an official statement about his capacity?

  18. 20 years ago my dad had a series of strokes, rendering him unable to comprehend spoken language and likewise unable to speak in a way that made sense. He also has diabetes. Before the strokes he was very smart. Less than a year past the strokes he could hear and speak, but his ability was limited to roughly 10-20 seconds initially. He continually kept improving his duration. Within 2 years he got almost all the way back to where he was before. One can see with Fetterman that he has made quick progress. Hopefully he will continue to improve health and enjoy life.

    1. No candidate has ever had to release all of their medical records to the public, Federman shouldn’t be required to break that pattern.

  19. When mom had her stroke, she drove herself 12 miles through LA, had gone to the wrong building, and ended up driving to the emergency room down the street instead. She ended up losing part of the field of vision in both eyes. She does have a processing disorder as well, which is only made worse when she doesn’t wear her hearing aids. But 16 years after the stroke, she hasn’t had another and she is still going strong. Still sharp as a tack, too.

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