Is McCain withholding information from the Public?

Let me begin by disclosing (just in case you’re new to my blog) that I am a Romney supporter. However, my blog entry today focuses on Senator John McCain; no I’m not jumping ship au contraire; I will continue to campaign for Gov. Romney so long as he stays on the campaign trail and in the fight. Today I decided to write about and share my personal observations about the Senator and what I view as a possible questionable “health-issue”.

To the Senator’s credit, at least in the past, he has made no secret of his brush with melanoma (you can read about it at this NY Times link – No Complications in McCain Cancer Surgery) and of course his injuries suffered from both his aircraft crash into Hanoi Bay and at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors are well documented. What has caught my eye recently is the “changes” on the left side of his face and more recently the asynchronous eye blinking, and the drooping of his left eye. As a registered nurse, with many years of experience caring for critically ill neonates and infants I have learned to look for very subtle signs of change in my patients and these skills has served me well over the years alerting me to a change in health status of patients not equipped to communicate them to me verbally; in addition those who know me know that I am very observant and have a knack as an astute observer.

Of course, there could be numerous non-health related reasons for detecting physical changes in the Senator’s face and eye movements. For example, until recently the press seemed to focus almost exlusively on his right side, which lacks the “chipmunk cheek” of his left side. Also when full frontal head shots were taken some were obviously “zoomed” in and perhaps this caused an exaggerated look to McCain’s face. What really caught my interest was how about two weeks ago I noticed how much his left eye had begun to droop, and then during coverage last week I noticed that he eyes did not blink in unison, with his left eye often blinking in rapid succession before his right eye blinked.

It is possible that there is nothing medically wrong with the Senator, however knowing his history of cancer (especially melanoma) and how stress is a known trigger for cancer cell growth, and yes let’s say it he’s in the 70+ club (I’m not far behind in years myself) which also increases the possibility of age related illnesses I felt compelled to ask – is Senator McCain being truthful about his health and his ability to lead should he win the Republican nomination and go on to capture the Presidency (I am definitively not in favor of this option).

Now there may be those who read this and think that such concerns are small and petty, but I would disagree. I think that having a candidate that is not only viable “electorally” but medically is crucial. So perhaps the good Senator can put my concerns to rest by answering the questions I posed about the condition of his health and ensuring us that he is not only physically fit, but medically fit as well.

This voter is waiting to learn the answer.