John Fetterman’s wife Giselle says family fled to Canada to avoid ‘media circus’ over depression

The family of Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman described how they fled to Canada to escape a “media circus” over his "severe" clinical depression.

Mr Fetterman, a Democrat who won his first term last year while still recovering from a stroke that nearly killed him, checked himself into the Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington DC earlier this month.

Now his wife Giselle Barreto Fetterman has said that media attention pushed her to take the couple's children and drive north into Canada for an impromptu holiday.

"I am not really sure how to navigate this journey but am figuring it out slowly," Ms Fetterman tweeted on Friday.

"One 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.

"We talked about lots of hard things, and how we will all have to face hard things. About the need to be gentle, with all and with ourselves.

"We did some scary things but we did them together. We ziplined over Niagara Falls and [our son] August got stuck. 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. And tomorrow? Who knows. Will try all over again."

Aides have said that Mr Fetterman may remain in hospital for weeks, suggesting that his depression may have been stoked by "negative experiences" during his election campaign.

Mr Fetterman faced numerous attacks from Republican politicians and pundits claiming that his stroke had left him without the mental fitness to fill the post, sometimes in vicious terms.

His primary care doctor said that he has no actual "cognitive deficits", but suffers from auditory processing problems that mean he often needs captions to understand other people's speech.

The controversy continued after his victory, with conservatives accusing him of deceiving voters as to the extent of his illness while disability advocates argued that he was being unfairly stigmatised for needing accommodations that are often required by law in US workplaces.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that up to 26 per cent of American adults have some kind of disability, with 11 per cent suffering serious difficulty with concentration or memory and 6 per cent having serious problems with their hearing.

Likewise, an estimated 9.5 per cent of American adults each year suffer from depression or similar conditions such as bipolar disorder. Experts say that depression is relatively common after a stroke.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go tobefrienders.org to find a helpline near you.