Hillary's Pneumonia Hokum: A Timeline

Only four days after I wrote "The Decrepit Candidate" here at American Thinker, Hillary Clinton took ill at the 9/11 fifteenth anniversary memorial ceremonies in New York City, ditched her press pool, left prematurely, and was unceremoniously stuffed, stiff as a board, into her van to escape to daughter Chelsea's apartment. Thanks to a citizen video, taken by Zdenek Gazda and now viewed by millions of people worldwide, we know that the Clinton campaign's original statement that Hillary became "overheated" is a lie. OK, let's be more charitable here – if Hillary did indeed overheat and become dehydrated, then it was a partial truth, but it was made a lie because it wasn't the whole story. After Gazda's video became public, a new excuse explanation was needed, and it was provided by Hillary's personal physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, who has written that she examined Hillary on Friday, September 9, performed tests, and diagnosed "a mild non-contagious bacterial pneumonia" (whatever that is; probably a simplified description in layman's terms). Hillary was put on antibiotics (for the second time since September 2) and told to rest. Presumably ignoring the good doctor's advice, Hillary returned to full-bore campaigning and fundraising that same day.

I don't doubt that Hillary had pneumonia, but is this also a lie, because it is not the complete story? We now understand that Hillary is very secretive about her health, as she did not tell either her staff or running mate Tim Kaine of the pneumonia diagnosis until after her Sunday collapse. I remain skeptical that Hillary is really in good health, and I think there are very good odds that the very secretive Hillary is hiding a degenerative neurological condition from the public, and probably from most everybody except those people closest to her, possibly even from her primary care physician (Dr. Bardack). If so, then visiting the 9/11 ceremonies was certainly a high-risk event for Hillary to attend, since there were lots of people, lots of things going on with multiple distractions occurring at the same time in an uncontrolled environment, lots of reporters, lots of cameras taking pictures, a lot of chances to spot evidence of a neurological disorder, and not a good time for something to go "wrong," which it did. Here's Hillary at the ceremonies, in the early morning before they get underway: Note her sunglasses. They have been described as "cobalt-blue" by sharp internet sleuths, and they do seem to be special glasses designed to block red-spectrum frequencies of light (which can trigger or aggravate seizures in people with certain neurological disorders). You can detect this because the glasses are completely black in front of Hillary's face (since they are absorbing the red frequencies of daylight, so Hillary's flesh-toned face cannot be seen), but the portion of the glasses that are in front of a man's white shirt allow the blue frequencies of daylight to pass through to the viewer. Also note the Big Black Dude in the upper left corner. This guy is almost never more than a few steps away from Hillary at her public appearances, and I'll say more about him later. The blue tint of the glasses becomes really obvious in this publicity-stunt picture of Hillary leaving Chelsea's apartment later that day: The red-spectrum frequencies of daylight are absorbed by the glasses, but the blues are not, so they reflect back to you. The picture above, taken during the ceremonies, has been described as "squeeze my fingers," a test for feeling and/or muscle strength in the fingers. It's not clear in this photo if Hillary's companion, Christine Falvo, a former co-worker of Hillary's at the State Department who now works for a New York City public relations firm, is actually administering a neurological test. Perhaps some intrepid journalist could ask Chuck Schumer, the onlooker on the left, if he recalls what was going on here. When Hillary became "overheated and dehydrated," she left the ceremonies for the street, where her van would pick her up. In the photo below, taken as she leaves the site, Christine Falvo is seen supporting Hillary, while Hillary has her right hand clasped to her chest. This is a classic maneuver taken by people with Parkinson's Disease to disguise hand tremors, but we can't tell from just a snapshot if that is what Hillary is doing here. We would need to see a video to determine if Hillary executed this maneuver for any length of time. Note that the Big Black Dude is right behind Hillary, just a step away. (Also, note that Christine's sunglasses are not reflecting only blue light.) At the street, Hillary used the post (technically, a bollard) and the assistance of Christine Falvo to stay erect. You can see that her knees are weak, but she is otherwise stiff as a board. The Big Black Dude has just slid open the door of the van. In the above freeze-frame of the Gazda video, at the moment that Hillary is heaved into the van, her knees have buckled, but her upper torso is still stiff. Christine is still trying to hold her upright as she, the Big Black Dude, and an unidentified person on the right tip her forward and lift her into the van. Some of the dinosaur media have reported that Hillary "stumbled at the curb" and "fell into the van." Others reported that she "fainted." This shows the extremely low quality of "journalism" today, describing things that just didn't happen, as you can see for yourself in the video. Hillary didn't "stumble"; she buckled at the knees. She didn't "faint" (lose consciousness and go limp). Hillary herself says she didn't faint, and for once she might be telling the truth, because the video shows that she was apparently awake but immobile. She was having a seizure of some kind. Of course, this is not the first time Hillary has become rigid and unresponsive on the campaign trail. Take a look at what transpired on August 4, 2016 at her campaign rally in Las Vegas: A "silent demonstrator" in the audience waves a flag. Hillary freezes. With Hillary still motionless and speechless, the Big Black Dude rushes to her side. He puts his right arm on her shoulder and speaks to her. In the comforting embrace of the Big Black Dude, Hillary starts to snap out of her trance. Here's what the Big Black Dude said to Hillary: "It's OK. We're not going anywhere. Keep talking…" The demonstrators were never a security threat. This is not telling Hillary that she isn't in danger – this is a medical intervention to get her to snap out of her trance. If you're in doubt, look what transpired afterward: While Hillary was frozen, two guys, who are almost certainly Secret Service agents from Hillary's protective detail, moved toward her from her right. Hillary recovers from her trance and starts talking, rephrasing what the Big Black Dude said to her: "OK. Here we are." She then gives her infamous Wicked Witch of the West cackle and continues: "OK, we'll keep talking." Meanwhile, the Big Black Dude, who does not possess the physique of your typical Secret Service man, leans over and says something to one of the agents, and they walk away from the podium. (The complete video is here.) Who is this guy, that he has the power to tell Secret Service agents what to do? Above is a picture from 2010, when Bill Clinton had heart surgery to install two stents. To Bill's left is the Big Black Dude, who was Bill's medical aide (note clothing) and who accompanied Bill and monitored him while he was recovering. The Big Black Dude (on right, still dressed in civvies) was a staple of Hillary's campaign from almost the beginning, as this early campaign photo shows. So this is a man known to and trusted by the Clintons, no doubt because of his medical assistance during Bill's recovery. Surely you remember this picture from February 2016, when the dinosaur media reported that Hillary slipped on the steps and needed assistance to reach the porch. My question is, slipped on what? It was a beautiful South Carolina day. There is no snow, ice, or wet surface. No banana peel, even. She could have tripped, maybe, or stumbled, but slipped? I don't think so. Lifting Hillary to the top of the steps on the left is the ever-present Big Black Dude, and an unidentified person is helping her up on her right side. So my question is, if Hillary is in excellent health as reported by Dr. Bardack, with hypothyroidism (under control with medication) and "seasonal allergies" (for a very long allergy season, January to December) which cause her to cough as her only chronic conditions, then why does she have the Big Black Dude, who apparently functions as some sort of medical assistant, constantly at her side? If we knew the identity and role in Hillary's campaign of the Big Black Dude, I think we might have the answer whether or not Hillary has an undisclosed medical condition, specifically a neurological problem. It might not be Parkinson's Disease, as Dr. Ted Noel suspects from the strong circumstantial evidence. It could be ongoing damage from her 2012 concussion, or some other problem. So here is a challenge for you intrepid journalists who are on the campaign trail with Hillary. (Are you listening, Andrea Mitchell?) Next time you talk to her campaign manager, Robby Mook, ask him these questions: Who is the Big Black Dude? Who writes his paycheck? The government, or the Clinton campaign? What is his purpose in the campaign? Is he a doctor or medically trained? Then see if you can get straight answers from Robby, not a pack of lies or obfuscations interspersed with Trump-trashing. Oh, I forgot. You'd have to leave Clinton Protection Mode to do real investigative reporting. Ain't gonna happen. Going forward, there are two things that will be dogging Hillary if she is indeed hiding a neurological condition: Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, the folks directing Trump's campaign, are not stupid people. If they think Hillary is hiding poor health, and especially if they suspect she has Parkinson's Disease, they can try to arrange "triggering" events for Hillary to cope with during her campaign rallies or speaking gigs. If Hillary exhibits a few more "brain freezes" or coughing fits before November 8, that might not be enough to get her to quit the race, but it might convince many more voters that Hillary is too sick to be elected president, thus they won't vote for her. Every public appearance Hillary makes is a high-risk event. Her campaign can try to control this risk by cutting back the number of her public events, and by choosing small venues with tiny audiences so the environment can be more tightly controlled. But it's still risky – surprises can, and will, happen. And now everybody is waiting, watching, and analyzing. Nick Chase is a retired but still very active technical writer, technical editor, computer programmer, and stock market newsletter writer. You can read more of his work on the American Thinker website and at The Contrarian's View .