Parkinson’s doctor made 10 White House visits, logs show
The visitor logs reveal that a neurologist, a Parkinson’s disease expert, and countless other medical professionals have visited the White House Medical Unit. This raises new questions regarding President Biden’s suitability for office, as he fights to keep him on the ballot in 2024.
The visitor logs reveal that Dr. Kevin R. Cannard is a Bethesda neurosurgeon and movement disorder specialist who works at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He has visited the White House Medical Unit office 10 times since November 2022.
Last updated on July 1, the logs show that Dr. Cannard last visited the White House on March 28, according to the latest update.
Dr. Cannard mainly met with Megan Nasworthy who is a medical liaison for the White House to Walter Reed. He met Dr. Kevin O’Connor on January 17, the White House doctor who treats Dr. Biden.
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Dr. Cannard met with Dr. Joshua Simmons on his first White House trip, which took place on November 15, 2022. Dr. Simmons is an emergency medicine specialist affiliated with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
In the logs, the purpose of Dr. Cannard’s visits is not revealed. It is also not known if the visits had anything to do with the health of the president. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, refused to confirm Dr. Cannard’s visit on Monday. This refusal led to a heated exchange in the room.
Ms. Jean Pierre suggested that “thousands of” military personnel could receive medical treatment through the White House Medical Unit, but she claimed privacy prevented her from confirming which individuals, including Mr. Biden, were seen.
Ms. Jean Pierre said, “I will not confirm a person’s name.” “That’s not what I will do.”
Ms. Jean Pierre said that a neurologist found no problems with Mr. Biden, who is neither being treated for Parkinson’s nor taking medication to treat the condition.
When Ms. Jean Pierre was pressed on Dr. Cannard again, she said: “I won’t confirm any specialist who comes to the White House for privacy reasons.”
She said that Mr. Biden had undergone three physicals as president, and each time he saw a neurologist.
“Each year he gets this test, he goes to a neurologist,” said Ms. Jean Pierre. “That’s right, three times?” “I am telling you he’s seen a neurosurgeon three times during his presidency.”
A White House spokesperson told the New York Post that “a wide variety of Walter Reed specialists visit the White House Complex to treat thousands military personnel who work in the grounds.”
Mr. Biden denied having Parkinson’s disease or any other neurological diseases, and said that he was fit to be president and run for a second four-year term.
He is fighting to remain on the ticket for 2024 despite a growing number of Democratic leaders calling on him to step down after he has been seen in public with difficulty remembering and speaking words, or appearing lost and frail.
Mr. Biden has said that he won’t take a test of cognitive ability to prove his suitability for office, and he is “completely ruling” out the possibility of withdrawing from this ticket.
The president may not have been treated by Dr. Cannard but his training seems to align with what neurologists who merely observe the president from afar say appears as a form Parkinson’s disease and associated dementia.
On Dr. Cannard’s professional resume, he is described as a Movement Disorder Specialist at Walter Reed as well as a “Neurology Specialist” and as a consultant to the White House Medical Unit.
Treatment of movement disorders is referred to as “advanced treatment” and can include treatments like Botox injections in specific muscles that relieve muscle spasms, or excessive saliva production.
A movement disorder specialist will also be trained to work with a neurosurgeon in order to determine the most appropriate location for deep brain stimulation. According to Duke Health, these specialists are also taught to recognize non-motor symptoms such as “lightheadedness” and “skin changes”, constipation, urinary and bowel problems, memory loss and hallucinations.
Dr. O’Connor said that he had “assembled” a team of medical experts, including “movement disorders neurologic specialists” to “carefully examine and assess” the president during his physical examination on February 28, 2024.
The team concluded that “a large part of his stiffness was in fact due to degenerative osteoarthritic spine changes.”
Dr. O’Connor stated that he had conducted an “extremely detailed neurologic examination” and found no evidence of “cerebellar, or other central nervous disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, stroke.”
