Thursday, September 15, 2016

Fat Boy and Pneumonia Girl Wheeze Toward the Finish Line

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Donald John Trump, the man Ronald Reagan, Jr., recently referred to as "fat boy," has filmed a segment for the "Dr. Oz" television show in which he discusses his health with the celebrity physician and shares a whopping two-page medical history.  Although the episode has yet to air, word of it's content is leaking to the press from audience members.  What is apparent is that the Trump camp is continuing to keep their candidate's health status very close to the vest - while constantly clambering for Hillary Clinton to be more forthcoming with her medical history.

One page of the Trump medical history to which Doctor Oz was granted access was apparently a list of test results that were conducted at Lennox Hospital in New York City last week.  One of those results supposedly indicated that his cholesterol level was good - and there was also information provided that Trump is on medication to control his cholesterol. 

Trump's weight was a topic of conversation on the show, with an acknowledgement that he weighs either 236 pounds or 267 pounds, depending on which audience member was quoted.  The Trump camp is apparently laying claim to the 236 pound figure.  Reports from the program indicate that the candidate confessed to not exercising except when he is able to play golf, and that he enjoys eating fast food.

As someone who has weighed 236 pounds before - but never 267, I can attest that even the lighter of those two figures is an uncomfortable burden to carry around as well as a serious health risk.  A president who was taking the extremely high stress job seriously, and who weighs that much, would be at serious risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Two pages obviously can't cover the health history of a seventy-year-old, obese male.  (It would take several pages just to provide a history of my dental check-ups or eye-exams - much less the serious stuff.)   It would appear The Donald is still going to great lengths to control the story of his health.  Kurt Eichenwald, a reporter who has an investigative piece on Trump in the current on-line edition of Newsweek, tweeted this piece of speculation on Tuesday:

"I believe Trump was institutionalized in a mental hospital for a nervous breakdown in 1990, which is why he won't release medical records."
Eichenwald's tweet was later withdrawn.

Meanwhile, in the other camp, Hillary Clinton is drawing criticism for trying to conceal a case of pneumonia while maintaining a very active schedule.  A friend told me yesterday, quite seriously, that he heard Hillary had died from the pneumonia and has been replaced on the campaign trail with a double.

The true state of both candidates' actual health is likely to remain murky, but what is clear is this:  the secretiveness of the two, Trump and Clinton, will continue to lead to outlandish speculation unless they are more open and honest about their medical histories.   Both candidates are well into their senior years, both of vying for one of the most grueling jobs in the world, and both are trying to sell themselves to the American public as healthy enough to run the country.

When I make a purchase of this magnitude, I want to have a look under the hood.

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