John Rutherford: ‘I thought I was facing death’

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford addressed a group of young Catholic professionals at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Jacksonville.

Though the speech was about faith, there were some intersections with the political world — including Rutherford discussing his ongoing recovery from a January medical episode (he collapsed in the cloakroom of the House of Representatives), and how the rosary proved to be the key to his survival.

Rutherford described the situation in vivid detail.

“I thought I was having a massive heart attack,” Rutherford said. “The panic was off the scale.”

Feeling consciousness fading, Rutherford surmised that if he passed out, he might not come to.

“I thought I was facing death,” he said. “But I thought it wasn’t the ending, only the beginning … I was not afraid.”

Rutherford started saying the rosary, and the pain and hyperventilation subsided.

“The rosary forces you to control your breathing,” Rutherford said. “I never did pass out.”

A doctor allayed his initial fears of a massive heart attack.

“Your heart’s fine,” Rutherford was told, “but your pancreas is the most inflamed I’ve ever seen.”