Rep. Jennifer Wexton announced on Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and said she wants to use her platform to "be a voice for those struggling with Parkinson's to help bring better resources to the search for a cure."
"If there's one thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on, it's that Parkinson's disease sucks,” the Virginia Democrat, 54, said in an announcement posted to Twitter.
She said the disease has mostly affected her speech and the way her mouth moves, which is causing her to speak more quickly, and that it is affecting her balance and how she walks, reports Politico.
Wexton insisted that Parkinson's is not a "death sentence," while making her announcement on National Parkinson's Day.
"I want to use that platform to be a voice for those struggling with Parkinson's to help bring better resources to the search for a cure," she said.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Diseases, around 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's, with the actual numbers expected to be even higher.
Wexton said she plans to continue her duties in Congress while working with her doctor on a treatment plan, and said she hopes to "keep serving you for many years to come."
Wexton was a substitute judge and domestic violence prosecutor before she was elected to Virginia's state Senate, where she held her seat for five years. She won her federal seat in Virginia's 10th Congressional District in 2018.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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