The US presidential election race has taken a head spinning turn with the revelation from independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he once had a worm living in his brain. The news comes to light in a deposition taken more than 10 years ago in which RFK Jr. said the worm ate portions of his brain and then died while still inside his head. RFK Jr., 70, made the head scratching 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 the New York Times. He had originally been scheduled for brain surgery by the same doctor who operated on his uncle, Edward Kennedy, the Democrat senator from Massachusetts, who lost his life to brain cancer in 2009. After getting a second opinion from a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, RFK Jr. was told an abnormality found on brain 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, reports the New York Post. He also said during the 2012 deposition that he suffered from mercury poisoning after eating too many tuna fish sandwiches, which doctors said was probably the actual cause of Kennedy’s neurological issues, reports the New York Post. “I have cognitive problems, clearly,” the son of late attorney general and senator from New York, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., said at the time. “I have short-term memory loss and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.” After suffering from “severe brain fog” and difficulty remembering certain words, it was discovered the level of mercury in his system was 10 times higher than levels considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. Kennedy believed the condition was caused by his diet. “I loved tuna fish sandwiches. I ate them all the time,” he said. Kennedy also said he recovered from the memory loss and fogginess and had no after effects from the parasite, which he claims had not required any treatment, per the New York Post, adding he made several changes following the two health scares, including getting more sleep, travelling less and consuming less fish. Even at age 70, Kennedy is the youngest declared candidate for the 2024 presidential election, up against former president Donald Trump, 77 and incumbent President Biden, 81. When asked by the New York Times whether his health would be a negative in his ability to serve as president, a spokesperson for the Kennedy campaign simply said “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.”
