Sen.Bernie Sandersis on the mend following his heart attack, and is shutting down rumors about it.
In an interview that aired on Thursday’s episode of theTodayshow, the 2020 presidential hopeful sat down with NBC News correspondent Harry Smith todiscuss his recent health setback— insisting he’s “on the way to a full recovery.”
Sanders was admitted to a Nevada hospital on the night of Oct. 1 afterexperiencing chest pain at a campaign event. While it was previously announced thathe had two stents inserted into his heartafter doctors discovered a blockage in one of his arteries, his campaign didn’t report the heart attack until Friday,The New York Timesreported.
“No. That’s nonsense,” he replied. “We’re dealing with all kinds of doctors, and we wanted to have a sense of what the hell was going on, really.”
“I had a procedure that hundreds of thousands of people a year have,” Sanders added, sharing, “According to the doctors, I’m on the way to a full recovery.”
In a statement to reporters from Sanders’ campaign on Friday, senior adviser Jeff Weaver said that the longtime senator’s health was on the mend.
Campaign officials told theTimesthat Sanderswould stay in Las Vegas on Friday nightand return to Burlington, Vermont on Saturday. A rep for Sanders’ campaign did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“I want to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center for the excellent care that they provided,” Sanders saidin a statement on TwitterFriday. “After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work.”
Bernie Sanders Twitter
Aside from health struggles this past week, Sanders has dealt with a family tragedy. Over the weekend,his daughter-in-law, Dr. Rainè Riggs, died atthe age of 46.
The mother of three had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer just two days earlier,according to her obituaryfrom the Lee & Martin Funeral Home in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.
Some of Riggs’ final moments were spent with the three children who were her “crowning achievement,” her family remembered in the heartbroken obituary announcing her death on Saturday.
“Her last words were to tell her children how much she loved themand she was so sorry that she got sick,” Riggs’ family wrote. “Her last moment was spent with her No. 1 cheerleader, her mother, holding her hand and whispering in her ear how much she loved her.”
source: people.com
