As Fetterman prepares to debate Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania Senate race, stroke survivors see themselves in him

MOHNTON, Pa. – Edward Check Jr. first dropped dead on Feb. 16, 2016.

That's how the 49-year-old Berks County retiree describes his first stroke. His second stroke came 18 months later.

Check's strokes took away his 17-year career as an aerospace engineer and his ability to speak for more than a year; he remains paralyzed on his left side.

But in a recent conversation, he focused on what he has gained: more time to parent his 11-year-old son, teaching his overachieving self  "how to chill" and learning how to overcome adversity.

"It's not how you fall, it's how you rise," Check said.

In that lesson, he has found a connection with John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, who continues to recover from a stroke in the public eye amid scrutiny from the media and attack ads from his opponent. He will face off against his Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz at 8 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday during their first and only debate of the midterm, in which Fetterman will use closed captioning as a tool to help him with lingering auditory processing issues after the stroke.

Using captioning in recovery is common among stroke survivors like Check and Fetterman, according to multiple health associations.

Oz has called for more debates and has lambasted Fetterman for not agreeing to more.

Fetterman said the Tuesday debate falls within tradition for U.S. Senate debates in Pennsylvania, which have previously been held in mid-to-late October.

"That's what's normal, and Dr. Oz is trying to have a distraction from his own kind of campaign and the position he's in," Fetterman said during an interview with USA TODAY.

Dr. Oz did not agree to an interview with USA TODAY. A spokesperson for Oz called out Fetterman for not releasing his full medical records.

Recently "John Fetterman swore up and down he's not on the heart transplant list. If he's willing to tell a journalist that he doesn't need a heart transplant on the record, what is the big deal about making his medical records public to back that up?" Oz spokesperson Brittany Yanick told USA TODAY.

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Fetterman has a 2-point lead in Pennsylvania, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. The latest CNN poll on Monday had Fetterman up by 5 points.

The Democrat's performance will likely be closely watched by critics and media for any signs of lingering problems from the stroke.

Much coverage of Fetterman's stroke has focused on ableism, his doctors' reports, the medical opinions of doctors who have not treated him and questions from Oz, who has called on the Democrat to release his full health record.

Fetterman has released two doctors' statements but not his full health record.

"My doctors, real doctors, as opposed to Dr. Oz, have all said that you're great to go and you're fit to run," Fetterman said to USA TODAY. Oz is a medical doctor but is not part of Fetterman's medical team.

Stroke survivors who spoke to USA TODAY said they couldn't imagine recovering in public – let alone during one of the most-watched and most-consequential Senate races that could determine which major party controls Congress.

'I fought my way back'

For decades, Check was an independent voter in Berks County, where former president Donald Trump won twice.

Check, who made a living designing the interiors of Medevac and search-and-rescue helicopters, didn't fully align with either major political party.

Strokes that put him in a coma with feeding tubes and left him unable to speak for about a year changed that.

As he was recovering from his first stroke during the 2016 campaign season, he said it stung every time he saw a replay of Trump mocking a disabled reporter – a reference to a November 2015 campaign moment when Trump appeared to imitate New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a joint contracture in his right arm and hand. It was during the former president's administration that Check switched his party affiliation from independent to Democrat.

This year, he's found a new connection with the Democratic candidate for Senate since Fetterman had a stroke in May shortly before the Pennsylvania primary election.

"I can relate to the whole thing," Check said. "I fought my way back. John is fighting his way back."

Check said he reaches out to many stroke victims because there's a sense of community among them, the common bond of staring death in the face and clawing their way back to life.

Because of his own experience with completely losing his ability to speak for a year and using speech therapy to regain his words, he's confident Fetterman is up to the rigor of a U.S. Senate schedule based on how well he can speak less than 6 months since his stroke.

"I think he’s doing great. He’s doing better than I was," Check said.

He scoffed at some criticisms of Fetterman using closed captioning to read questions, rather than listening and responding.

"He’s doing fine,"  said. "Five years from now you won't know he had a stroke."

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Fighting against discrimination

Desiree Whitfield has built a career fighting against social and racial injustice, from advocating for Ahmaud Arbery's family to supporting candidates who support her values. Arbery was a 25-year-old Black man who was murdered while jogging in Georgia during a racially motivated hate crime.

This year, her support for Fetterman has strengthened during his public recovery because she's "been there" and knows what's it's like to face discrimination and ableism in recovery.

"My stroke gives me a greater perspective because most people think once you’ve had a stroke, your brain, cognitive ability, speech and mobility won't bounce back. They think you'll never be the same," said the 47-year-old northwest Philadelphia resident. "But that's not true."

Her stroke in 2014 affected her speech, facial appearance and strength. She knew what she wanted to say, but it took a while to get the words out.

"Now, people wouldn't know I had a stroke unless I told them," Whitfield said. "I'm fully recovered."

Fetterman continuing his campaign shows the 7 million stroke survivors in the U.S. "no matter what happens, you can overcome it and conquer it," she said.

'We're all in the same boat'

Erica Zurer planned to enjoy her retirement from the New York City Department of Education with her two Bedlington terriers.

Surviving two strokes delayed her plans, but it didn't derail them. The 69-year-old north Philadelphia voter has the dogs and recently adopted a cat.

Zurer survived her first stroke around the same time Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012.  As soon as she was well enough, she volunteered in Brooklyn, helping to gather supplies for families that lost everything.

With her second stroke years later, she lost some of her eyesight.

"But, as cheesy as it might sound, I gained a lot of clarity," Zurer said.

This year, she said she feels like she sees Fetterman more clearly.

"What I and other stroke survivors understand is what it's like to tackle the task of full recovery," she said. "I can see it live, see him getting better, seen him in person, almost fully recovered. People who survive major health concerns and fight back have a connection. We’re all in the same boat."

She thinks Fetterman is doing a "great job" with his recovery and encouraged him to be transparent with voters.

"Keep up the honesty about your stroke. Please keep letting us know how well you’re doing and how you’re coming along and just get out there – even if you’re not perfect – because people are connecting with you."

Women's health on the ballot

Alliyson Feldmann was pregnant with her second child when she had a stroke on Thanksgiving Day 2017 and was forced to make one of the most difficult choices of her life.

Then a mother of a 2-year-old daughter with special needs, Feldmann had to decide during a lifeflight if she would save her own life or the life of her unborn son if both of them could not be saved. She still cries when she recalls a nurse letting her hear the baby's heartbeat while they were traveling during that harrowing helicopter ride.

"I had the right as a woman and human being to decide what was best for me and my family," the 39-year-old Feldmann said.

A landmark Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, reversed the constitutional right to abortion and sent the decision back to the states in June. Abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania, where Feldmann lives and leads the Democratic committee in Upper St. Clair, a suburb of Pittsburgh.

However, there are efforts among Republican lawmakers to ban abortion at the federal level if they win control of Congress. That's one of the big reasons Feldmann is supporting Fetterman. She wants to ensure pregnant patients – who are at an increased risk of stroke due to physiological changes – have the same choices.

"I couldn't imagine living in a post-Dobbs era and being forced to leave both of my children without a mother," she said. "It was an unimaginable position. I'm so thankful I didn't have to make that choice with a fear of prosecution."

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Candy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fetterman and Oz debate: Stroke survivors find connection in recovery