2024-07-07 18:54:13
As US President Joe Biden dismisses calls to drop out of the presidential race and refuses to undergo a cognitive function test, his personal physician Kevin O’Connor is emerging as a key man to sort out the situation.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 7th (local time), O’Connor has been serving as President Biden’s personal physician since 2009, when he was vice president. He currently resides in the White House and meets with President Biden several times a week to check on his health. President Biden has not taken a single cognitive function test since entering the White House in 2021, and President Biden’s O’Connor is at the center of this, WP reported.
O’Connor, who joined the White House medical team at the recommendation of President George W. Bush, moved to the position of Vice President Biden’s personal physician after President Bush’s term. Although they had no personal relationship before, O’Connor and President Biden are known to have become close due to their similar backgrounds: Irish, middle-class families in the Northeastern United States, and graduates of the ‘BIB League’ (Biden’s University of Delaware, O’Connor’s New York Institute of Technology).
The two became especially close because O’Connor helped with the treatment of President Biden’s family. When President Biden’s mother, Catherine, broke her hip in a fall before she passed away in 2010, O’Connor helped with the treatment. When President Biden’s eldest son Beau, whom he cherished, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013, O’Connor also actively participated. In his autobiography, “Promise Me, Dad,” President Biden introduced an anecdote that Beau told O’Connor, “No matter what happens, take good care of Dad. Promise me.” Biden also brought O’Connor, a Catholic, to his meeting with Pope Francis in 2021.
The Washington Post reported, citing White House officials, that O’Connor is not recommending a cognitive test for Biden. O’Connor announced that Biden was “fit for duty” even after his annual physical in February. However, the New York Post reported on the 6th that O’Connor met with a Parkinson’s specialist at the White House in January before making this announcement, raising doubts about Biden’s cognitive ability. The White House has not made an official statement on this matter.
The American media pointed out that the problem arose because, in an aging society, the president is also aging, but there is no protocol for disclosing his health status. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent, said, “After the TV debate, I received more than a dozen calls from brain specialists expressing concerns. It is time for the president to undergo cognitive and motor impairment tests and make the results public.”
Reporter Choi Ji-seon [email protected]
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2024-07-07 18:54:13