Michigan 12th district congresswoman Debbie Dingell is on the mend following a recent health emergency requiring an 8 day hospital stay.
The congresswoman says the experience was a wakeup call for her and that she plans to eat healthier moving forward.
The 12th district congresswoman underwent emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer doctors believed was caused by taking over the counter pain medications. The congresswoman had previous jaw surgery and was trying to avoid taking prescription pain medications by using Motrin.
She says while staying in the hospital, she got a close up view of the impact of the pandemic on those trying to provide good medical care.
“The nurses and the doctors and the technicians, quite frankly, the housekeeping and the food preparers in the hospital are the heroes of the front line during COVID and they want to help take care of people but they are burned out," Dingell said.
With advice and encouragement from Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer to eat more vegetables, Dingell says she’s giving up diet soft drinks and plans to eat healthier and better as she heals and that we need to learn to listen to our bodies and our doctors.
Dingell says she “still has a lot of pep and fight inside her”, is following doctors orders, and hopes to be back in the community at the Ann Arbor VA hospital and farmer’s market in a few weeks.