RFK Jr. reportedly said a worm ate part of his brain

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the 70-year-old independent presidential candidate who is presenting himself as a spry, masculine counterpart to his aging rivals, is struggling with previously unknown health problems – including a worm that he says has eaten part of his brain. according to the New York Times.

Kennedy discussed some of the medical issues with his second wife during divorce proceedings in a 2012 deposition reviewed by the Times. He argued at the time that his earning potential had been affected by cognitive problems.

According to him, Kennedy suffered from severe brain fog and memory loss in 2010 and underwent brain scans. A doctor believed the scans indicated “a worm that entered my brain, ate part of it and then died,” Kennedy said. After further testing, doctors concluded that the dark spot seen on the scans was actually a cyst containing a dead parasite.

According to him, in 2010, Kennedy suffered from severe brain fog and memory loss and underwent brain scans.

Around the same time, Kennedy discovered that he was also suffering from mercury poisoning – a condition that also causes memory loss – probably due to a diet rich in fish. He also said in the statement that he had been hospitalized multiple times for atrial fibrillation, a heart problem.

“I clearly have cognitive issues,” Kennedy said in the deposition. “I have short-term memory loss and long-term memory loss that affects me.”

Kennedy told the Times that he has recovered from his cognitive problems and that he has no lasting effects from the worm in his brain, which he said does not require treatment.

Still, the Times report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, offers a more complicated picture of Kennedy’s health than the version he painstakingly presented. As concerns about President Joe Biden and the age and cognitive abilities of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continue to weigh on voters, Kennedy has presented himself as a more youthful, robust and even more masculine alternative. His campaign has promoted videos of him lifting weights in jeans, skiing with pro snowboarder Torah Bright and diving with sharks.

Kennedy’s campaign dismissed concerns that he might not be as fit for the presidency as he portrayed himself to be. Campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear told the Times: “This is a hilarious proposal given the competition.”