General Discussion

However, that's changed...BUT I think I have to qualify my vote because I think his stroke has a great deal to do with the change in his behavior. A stroke should be, but is not generally, considered to be the same as a traumatic brain injury. The results are often the same. It's just that the mechanisms are different---one is an injury that comes from an external force, and the other comes from an internal force, either a clot or a bleed. In either case, depending on the area(s) of the brain involved, a person can have quite a noticeable behavior change, and I think to a great degree that's what's happened to Fetterman. He's spoken openly about his depression since the stroke, but aides have spoken about other troubling behaviors, and apparently those were not at all in evidence prior to the stroke. I personally think he should resign, but I don't think his ego will allow him to, so unless his wife can convince him to, we're stuck.

I do have some personal experience with TBIs, as my son returned from his second tour in Iraq with one. It was undiagnosed, but with my nursing experience, I could spot it. The VA was no help at all, and he kept insisting that he was "fine" although I could see he wasn't. I couldn't convince him to see a doctor, let alone a neurologist! We finally were making some progress when he died by suicide on Dec. 29, 2015. Sometimes I wish I'd insisted on an autopsy....