Story perspectives

Speech Pathologist Says McConnell Has Anoxic Brain Injury

By Drooid · Oct 1, 2026, 4:55 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Speech pathologist Hilary Shae says U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suffers an anoxic brain injury.
She characterizes his thumbs-up, wave and handshake as automatic stereotypic gestures indicating severe brain damage.
Shae notes McConnell does not speak and must be prompted to say “aye” when voting.
She references a prior fall with pneumonia and a 911-call CPR event that likely caused oxygen loss.
Shae says over four months have passed with no improvement, making functional recovery unlikely.

1 of 1

Story summary

Speech pathologist Hilary Shae says U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suffers an anoxic brain injury.
She characterizes his thumbs-up, wave and handshake as automatic stereotypic gestures indicating severe brain damage.
Shae notes McConnell does not speak and must be prompted to say “aye” when voting.
She references a prior fall with pneumonia and a 911-call CPR event that likely caused oxygen loss.
Shae says over four months have passed with no improvement, making functional recovery unlikely.