Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, solidified his bad-assness and general awesomeness this week by dealing with a literal interpretation of #feelingthebern.
Sanders has sold many on his ideals, and Larry David has sold others on the certain je ne sais quoi that the Senator emanates. Many have enjoyed Sanders’ ability to just say what needs to be said. This don’t-give-a-shit attitude was evident earlier this week, when in the midst of a presidential campaign and the holidays, Sanders scheduled an outpatient hernia surgery.
Let’s note that inguinal hernias, of which Sanders suffered, often make the patient #feeltheburn quite literally prior to surgery. Therefore, it is highly likely that Sanders has been campaigning and working all while dealing with his own inner burn.
With little fanfare or notice, Sanders, who is the robust age of 74, underwent outpatient hernia surgery at George Washington University Hospital on Monday. While it was an outpatient procedure, anyone who has had their wisdom teeth pulled or a colonoscopy can tell you that just because it’s an outpatient procedure, that doesn’t mean you still don’t need recovery time. (And in the case of wisdom teeth, lots of pain medication).
However, getting some post-op rest and recovery seems to be for the weak-willed when compared to Sanders. Not even twelve hours after his hernia surgery, Sanders was back in the Senate to attend important budget meetings and continue his duties for the people of Vermont.
What further shows the grit that Sanders possesses is the fact that other candidates have used the excuse of the campaign trail to shirk their duties to their legislative tasks. Still others decided they would rather promote their books then campaign for the highest office in the land. And having hernia surgery would likely be considered by many a legitimate excuse to take at least a day off to recuperate. Yet, Sanders preferred to solider on instead of taking a break.
So no matter whether you support Hillary, Bernie, or any other candidate, you have to give a tip of the hat to this ability of Sanders to keep doing his duties.
Featured image by Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
