During the past seven months, Jerry Falwell Jr. has been hospitalized four times for blood clots in his lungs. The former Liberty University president shared that news on Instagram yesterday, noting that “Students at LU have asked why I’ve been so ‘absent’ from LU.”
Next to a photo of himself sitting in a New York City hospital room, Falwell writes that it was “especially sweet” to attend a Liberty men’s lacrosse game over the weekend because last week he was admitted to NYU’s Langone Health.
“Fourth hospital visit for me since August when I began suffering from pulmonary emboli,” he writes. Falwell adds that doctors made the diagnosis and “prescribed blood thinners that should dissolve the clots in weeks or months.” A pulmonary embolism (or P.E.) can be life-threatening.
Since August, Falwell says, his “blood oxygen saturation has been between 77 and 92,” with the normal range being between 96 to 99. He adds, “I didn’t even have the strength to go on TV to refute lies in the press.”
Jerry Falwell Resigned from Liberty U. in August
Blood clots aren’t the only reason Falwell has been “absent” from Liberty University, however. In August, the school placed him on an indefinite leave of absence for posting questionable photos online. Falwell resigned but indicated he still was assisting in university operations. Controversy also erupted about a substantial severance package.
Falwell filed but then dropped a lawsuit against Liberty University, claiming defamation and reputational damage. In a statement last December, Falwell indicated that although he was dropping his lawsuit against the school, he was keeping “all options on the table for an appropriate resolution to the matter.”
After Falwell’s departure, Jerry Prevo began serving as acting president of Liberty University. The school’s general counsel, David Corry, instructed staff to take no “direction or orders about the University from Falwell” or to do any “favors” for him. The school announced last fall that it had launched an investigation into Falwell’s time as president, but no results have been made public yet.
Falwell Family Maintains Conservative Influence
Other Falwell family members remain on the Liberty University payroll. They include Trey Falwell, Jerry Jr.’s son, who is vice president of support services, and Laura Wallace, Jerry Jr.’s cousin, who is executive vice president of human resources.
Falwell’s father, Jerry Falwell Sr., co-founded the evangelical Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virgina, in 1971. The school’s new Falkirk Center, a conservative political think tank co-founded by Falwell Jr. and Charlie Kirk, has sparked protests by some Liberty students.
Falwell Jr., a supporter of former President Donald Trump, recently posted a tribute to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who died last month at age 70. Next to a photo of him talking with Limbaugh, Falwell wrote: “A sad day for America. A true patriot, Rush Limbaugh, is gone. Now two of my three patriotic heroes are gone. Rush Limbaugh, my father and President Trump shaped my political world view like no other humans ever could! They all remind me of America’s greatest founding fathers!”
