President-elect Donald Trump’s Surgeon General nominee caused a gun accident when she was 13-years-old that left her dad shot dead — a tragedy which inspired her to pursue a career in medicine, but which she only partially revealed to the public, according to a revelatory new report.
Janette Nesheiwat was searching for a pair of scissors that were in a tacklebox on a shelf above the bed where her father slept in their Umatilla, Fla., home in February, 1990, according to a report from the New York Times.
her career in medicine, but never revealed publicly that he died from a gunshot
nor that she had a hand in the incident. @ drjanette/Instagram
She accidentally knocked it over and a .380 caliber handgun fell out of the container and discharged — striking her sleeping dad in the head.
“I saw blood on my father’s ear,” a young Nesheiwat told police at the time, The Times reports.
Ziad “Ben” Nesheiwat was declared dead the following day at an Orlando hospital in what was ruled an accidental shooting, according to a police report reviewed by the outlet.
In a 2017 memoir “Beyond the Sethoscope,” Nesheiwat recounts how the loss of her father inspired her to pursue a career in saving lives — but never mentions the role that she played in the tragedy.
“When I was 13 years old I helplessly watched my dear father dying from an accident as blood was spurting everywhere. I couldn’t save his life. This was the start of my personal journey in life to become a physician,” Dr. Nesheiwat wrote in the very first sentence of that memoir.
Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth (right) at the Fox News Patriot Awards. @ drjanette/Instagram
“The trauma of that moment clung to me like a relentless shadow, unraveling the fabric of my young life and leaving me in a perpetual state of devastation,” she writes elsewhere in the book.
The doctor has never publicly acknowledged that her father died of an accidental gun firing and talked about her part in the tragedy, according to the New York Times.
Hayat Nesheiwat, Janette’s mother, also served as an inspiration, working as a pediatric nurse and standing strong as the bedrock of the family following her husband’s death, according to the memoir.
Dr. Nesheiwat went on to have a career centered around practical medicine — working on the ground after natural disasters and later as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care clinics in New York and New Jersey. She is also a Fox News contributor.
“Her expertise and leadership have been pivotal during some of the most challenging Healthcare crises of our time,” Trump said in a statement at the time of her nomination last month.
Trump also noted that Nesheiwat worked on the front lines in New York City at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Dr. Nesheiwat will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!,” the president-elect emphasized.
Julie Nesheiwat, Dr. Janette’s sister, served as a homeland security adviser to President Trump during his first term in office.
Janette’s younger sister, Jaclyn, was a model who married Scott Stapp, the lead singer of the rock band Creed.
Her two other siblings are lawyers.
Dr. Nesheiwat did not respond to the Times for the story and did not return a request for comment from the Post.
