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September 25th, 2008 @ 8:13 am - by lotus · 15 Comments

The Guardian has a 3-minute clip of Obama’s and McCain’s statements yesterday. I haven’t been watching him a lot lately, but isn’t something different — droopier — about McCain’s left eyelid? What’s with that?

Filed Under: Herald & Examiner

15 Responses so far ↓

  1. GlitterGirl says:
    September 25, 2008 at 8:21 am

    Lotus-Ive noticed that left eye before-can’t remember the first time though. What’s that symptomatic of?

  2. lotus says:
    September 25, 2008 at 8:31 am

    I dunno, GG. So this isn’t new, huh?

  3. GlitterGirl says:
    September 25, 2008 at 8:42 am

    Seems I’ve noticed it off and on for a little while now. Okay-I AM NOT trying to start a rumor here but it’s on the same “problem” side of his face.

  4. lotus says:
    September 25, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Well, I’m not trying to start a rumor either, it was just something I hadn’t noticed before. I’d be inclined to suspect a neurological cause, but I really have no idea — could be of long standing, too, so nothing.

  5. fishwater says:
    September 25, 2008 at 9:05 am

    Totally noticed it last night. Do not remember noticing it before. What on earth could it be?

  6. Plexix says:
    September 25, 2008 at 9:43 am

    In poker, it’s known as a “tell.” It’s a non-verbal clue. For McCain, this means he’s lying. Oh, and his lips are moving, too……another tell.

  7. MSPolitical says:
    September 25, 2008 at 9:45 am

    Did y’all not notice that whole side of his face sagged in comparison to the other side? I’ve noticed the eye before, but not this bad, and not with that dichotomy between the two sides of his face. Looks like a mini-stroke to me.

  8. Third South says:
    September 25, 2008 at 11:46 am

    Well if it is, it would not be the kind of thing you could admit during a presidential campaign. I guess we’re about to find out that if you can’t pick on old folks, war heroes and women that you also can’t pick on sick folks.

  9. MSPolitical says:
    September 25, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    Look at this still picture, on a blog by someone who also has had the thought that McCain might have suffered a mini-stoke. McCain’s face looks like the left side is melting.

    Now think about who would be in charge, should he have a big stroke in office.

    Hooooo.

  10. lotus says:
    September 25, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    No linky, MSPol?

  11. Nature Lover says:
    September 25, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    Lotus I sent you something long well researched and not spammy addressing this look at email
    NL

  12. lotus says:
    September 25, 2008 at 6:46 pm

    Woops, took me awhile to get to it, NL — sorry. Here ’tis:

    I looked at that and at the risk of behaving wrongly, commenting on a patient that I have never examined directly and outside my field like a lesser-known fellow alum and MD, Bill Frist, I can say this:

    He has some baseline asymmetry from a large asymmetrical left jowl. This exaggerates his droopy eyelid. This may not reflect his motor function in the facial muscles and therefore not be neurologic. The skin folds appear intact at his nasal labial fold – the facial fold from the corner of the mouth. His mouth does not droop notably. He has some skin folds laterally as well. He does have some ptosis” on the left side eye. A number of things can cause facial asymmetry, not all central eg in the brain. A long ago fifth nerve palsy or (bells palsy could do this. A large exploration from his melanoma on his face could as well if it affected the facial nerve and might be more prominent with fatigue – see the wikipedia ptosis link. See this link regarding the surgery (I cannot type click on it yourself this embedded stuff tires me.) Has a photo also. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09mccain.html
    I am not convinced this is a big deal. Might demand a disclaimer from docs and an MRI although MRI reports in 72 year olds are scary – perhaps why he is slow to erlease everything now….

    Just to add to your paranoia, however, about melanoma and Palin if he is elected, melanoma is a very sneaky disease and can hide for years in your liver or kidneys without appearing on any test. Or could cause brain metastases. See the end of the NYT article for some experts take and this for some proof. A dead organ donor, who was years out from having a melanoma removed and without evidence of recurrence gave his tumor to 3 recipients of his kidneys and liver. For those of you crazy enuff to read this:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962000?ordinalpos=13&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

    Sorry about the swing in emphasis.

  13. MSPolitical says:
    September 25, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    OMG! Sorry, Lotus. http://theimpolitic.blogspot.com/2008/09/breaking-mccain-suspends-campaign.html

  14. Nature Lover says:
    September 25, 2008 at 11:45 pm

    MSP:
    About Mr Mccain’s face. Read my note embedded in Lotus’ above it explains it more thoroughly and has a link to a Mr McCain photo postoperatively. I do some neurology peripherally, on the weekends, in the Berkshires. :-)

    Sorry for the one person who read this the Bells palsy link is here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_palsy
    for earlier photo of him
    another photo years ago
    http://www.carolholden.org/images/McCain-CHH2004.jpg
    a series of photos
    http://thismanruns.blogspot.com/2008/02/mccains-darn-parotid-gland.html?showComment=1218996780000

  15. MSPolitical says:
    September 26, 2008 at 8:15 am

    Thanks, NL, I did read it, and it was quite interesting. I have had a Bell’s Palsy in the past, but I luckily had a complete recovery; is this what it might look like had the nerve not totally regenerated? There’s no pulling of his mouth at the other side (as I had when I had Bell’s). I looked rather . . . shall we politely say . . . odd.

    I’ve never noticed his face being as asymmetrical as it is in the picture at the link that I finally got up here. But, it could be fatigue and stress. He certainly seems stressed out.

    I can’t imagine how hard the stress of a presidential campaign would be on a person of his age; much less the stress of the presidency.