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The office of California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday that she has Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication of the shingles virus that can paralyze part of the face, and that she contracted encephalitis while recovering from the virus in early this year, according to The Washington Post.
Feinstein, 89, had not previously disclosed those medical details, though she said in a statement last week that she had suffered complications from the virus.
The California senator returned to Congress on May 10 after an absence of more than two months, after weeks of questions about her deteriorating health and whether she would return to the Senate.
Adam Russell, a spokesman for Feinstein, said the encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, “resolved on its own shortly after she was released from the hospital in March.” Feinstein continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Russell said.
Russell confirmed the two complications after they were first reported by the New York Times, raising questions about whether Feinstein had been hiding the extent of his illnesses. When she returned last week, Feinstein used a wheelchair and was noticeably thinner, appearing at times confused when she spoke to reporters or was led through hallways.
“The senator previously disclosed that she had several complications related to her shingles diagnosis,” Russell said in the statement. “As discussed in the New York Times article, those complications included Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.”
Feinstein was elected to represent California in the Senate in 1992 and is the longest-serving senator in history.
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