Ailing Dianne Feinstein, 89, suffers from 'facial paralysis' and 'vision ... trends now
An ailing Democratic Senator's medical condition is much worse than first feared, media reports have said.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that Dianne Feinstein, 89, has been diagnosed with vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
It is a known complication from shingles.
The virus also brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis that leave patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulties walking.
She is also being aided around the U.S. upper house of Congress by the daughter of former speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Corinne Prowda, 58, has been spotted by the side of Dianne Feinstein, 89, who has just returned from a 10-week sick leave absence due to shingles.
The marketing executive has appeared with the retiring senator after the departure of several trusted aides amid questions about her fitness for office.
Feinstein, seen earlier on Thursday, has been flanked by Nancy Pelosi's daughter in recent weeks. She is already set to retire next year.
When asked last week what it felt like to be back in the Senate after her three month battle with shingles, Feinstein bizarrely said that she has been there the entire time
A spokesman for Feinstein said Prowda was not drawing a salary for her role. Feinstein's office did not respond to a separate request regarding the senator's health diagnosis.
Feinstein, a Democrat representing California, had been set to stand down when her sixth and final term ends next year.
The lawmaker is also known to be suffering from vision and balance problems, and aides often take her around the Senate building in a wheelchair.
She had faced growing calls to resign during her months-long absence, notably from fellow California Democrats and the New York Times editorial board.
But Politico reported on Thursday that the Pelosi family is helping to take care of the long-serving lawmaker to boost the chances of Nancy Pelosi's preferred successor.
The outlet's Playbook newsletter said that ensuring Feinstein sees out her full term will help Adam Schiff, currently a member of Congress, to win the seat.
Schiff, who as chair of the House Intelligence committee probed the now-debunked conspiracy theory that Donald Trump colluded with Russia, has already raised $15 million for a possible election race.
But California Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to appoint a female of color if Feinstein retires early.
That would leave the door open for Barbara Lee, a Congresswoman representing California, to take up the seat for the rest of the current term.
California has a jungle primary, meaning the top two winners, regardless of party, move forward to the general election.
That means the heavily-Democratic state could see two Democrats running in the November 2024 election.
Pelosi, seen here at a protest for more affordable child care, is backing Adam Schiff to take over from Dianne Feinstein in the Senate
Schiff has already raised more than $15 million and is ahead of his nearest rival, Katie Porter, in the polls
'If (Feinstein) resigns right now, there is an enormous probability that Barbara Lee gets appointed — thus, it makes it harder for Schiff,' Politico quoted one Pelosi family confidant as saying.
The source added that the relationship between Pelosi, her daughter and the
