Jackson’s Wife Calls His Depression Debilitating
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is suffering from debilitating depression and even collapsed at his home in Washington two months ago, his wife said in an interview published Saturday that revealed new details about his secretive leave of absence.
Sandi Jackson, who is a Chicago City Council member, told the Chicago Sun-Times (http://bit.ly/NrVWzg ) that contrary to rumors, her husband did not try to kill himself and was not being treated for alcohol or drug addiction.
“No, no, none of that is true,” she said.
The Chicago Democrat and son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson has been off the job for nearly eight weeks. Throughout that time, his office has released little information, and only revealed his whereabouts a week ago, when Jackson was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. In that announcement, Jackson’s office said he was undergoing “extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues.”
Sandi Jackson said her husband collapsed at their home in Washington on June 10 while she was in Chicago.
“His collapse was D-Day for us,” she told Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed, adding that her husband had become “completely debilitated by depression.”
The congressman’s father and his brother Yusef took him to George Washington hospital, she said.
“He called and told me not to worry, but it was obvious he was suffering from a form of depression,” Mrs. Jackson said. “So Yusef took him at my suggestion to the Sierra Tucson Treatment Center in Arizona, where they specialize in mental health.”