Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in a deposition taken more than a decade ago that a worm ate part of his brain before dying inside his head.
RFK Jr., now 70, made the bizarre admission during his 2012 divorce proceeding, detailing “cognitive problems” he initially feared were a brain tumor — only for a second doctor to tell him the dark spots on his brain scans were a dead parasite, according to reporting by the New York Times.
Before getting a second medical opinion, Kennedy had been set to undergo surgery by the same doctor who operated on his uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who had died from brain cancer in 2009.
However, a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital believed the abnormality on his scans “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Kennedy said in the transcribed interview.
RFK Jr. also said during the 2012 deposition that he suffered from mercury poisoning after eating too many tuna fish sandwiches, which doctors say was probably the actual cause of Kennedy’s neurological issues.
“I have cognitive problems, clearly,” the son of the late attorney general and senator from New York said at the time. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.”
Kennedy said he suffered from “severe brain fog” and had trouble retrieving words around the same time that his mercury levels were 10 times what the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.
The politician who is known as a vaccine skeptic said he was certain his diet was causing the issue.
“I loved tuna fish sandwiches. I ate them all the time,” he said.
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Kennedy also said he recovered from the memory loss and fogginess and had no aftereffects from the parasite, which he claims had not required any treatment.
The lawyer added that he made several changes following the two health scares, including getting more sleep, traveling less and consuming less fish.
RFK Jr has used his younger age to make the case for his insurgent candidacy against former President Donald Trump, 77, and President Biden, 81.
When asked if his health issues would impact his ability to serve as president, a spokesperson for the Kennedy campaign told the Times, “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.”
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