Hi John,
Today is my son Karl's 15th birthday, and I'm so grateful to be able to spend it with him + the rest of the family today and this year.
2/15 also marks an anniversary: It's been one year since I checked in to Walter Reed to receive treatment for my depression. I'll never forget the decision. I had been in a dark place, and going to inpatient treatment on Karl's birthday left me feeling like a failure.
Clinical depression is no joke, and it convinces you that you're a loser, even if you've won. But slowly, over the course of a few weeks, I began to get better. My family was the single biggest motivation to take on my depression.
This isn't about 🔴 or 🔵 politics or party — treatment works. It truly does. With medical help, therapy, and the support from my family, I found a way forward. Countless messages of support from this team meant the world to me, too.
Getting help changed my life, and I consider it a big duty of mine to pay it forward. I'm proud to be serving Pennsylvania in the Senate today — and excited to be with my family on Karl's birthday. 2/15 was one of the best days of my life, and one of the worst too. 15 years ago I was 9 hours or so into fatherhood. The 2009 version of me never could have imagined what 2024 would look like.
Today, I continue to honor the promise I made when I got better: To share this message and to let people who may be in that place know there is a path to recovery. It works. I promise you it does. Please promise yourself that you won't allow your very real struggles to a dangerous place of self-harm. Trust the process and keep yourself in the game no matter what.
And finally, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the professionals and soldiers at Walter Reed who helped me get better. Thanks to my family, too, who were there for me before, during and after my recovery. Lastly, thanks to my colleagues in the Senate, on both sides, who demonstrated empathy.
Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏
❤️ John
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