I didn't believe any of the stories about the baby, until I heard the daughter had Mono for 5 months

[Motown_Johnny]

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212168574.shtml

*snip*

The allegations are that Sarah Palin's 16-year-old daughter, Bristol Palin (pictured left) became pregnant, and that Sarah Palin pretended the baby was hers.

Could this be true?

According to comments from classmates and other members of the community, Bristol Palin was out of school during what would have been the last trimester of the governor's pregnancy due to a bad case of mono. A case so severe, according to the Palin family, Bristol missed nearly 5 months of school.




I am not a doctor but that hit me as strange. So a quick google and a Wiki tells me that mono only lasts 1-2 months


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_mononucleosis

*snip*

After an initial prodrome of 1-2 weeks, the fatigue of infectious mononucleosis often lasts from 1-2 months



Any reasonable explanation for a teenage girl being out of school for 5 months with Infectious mononucleosis?

Maybe it is just a coincidence that this illness occurred at exactly the same time her mother was in her last trimester but it is one hell of a coincidence. Add to that the implausible airplane trip from Texas and things start to sound strange. It does seem more likely that she got the call that her daughter was in labor, so she said her water broke and then got the hell out of there.


Now, the circumstances of this birth should not be an issue, but the cover up and the lies should be. I hate the idea of dragging a 16 year old girl and a 4 month old baby into this slime but it seems unavoidable at this point.

[mwb970]

1. The daughter was out of school for the 5 months leading up to the birth.

Was there an outbreak of mono at her school? Or was she the only one? I thought this disease was known for being infectious.

They are lying.

The arrogance of the McCain team for thinking that this will not all come out in short order is breathtaking. They really do operate in a bubble, don't they?

[WeDidIt]

5. If this is true (which is doubtful), the McCain campaign didn't know

They barely talked to her, let alone vetted her.

[Boz]

14. "They barely talked to her, let alone vetted her." And thats the most important part of this story.

he made his choice without even thinking it through.

[mnhtnbb]

2. Add to that the video of what Palin looked like in the last trimester

of her first pregnancy--which is NOT what she looked like when she announced in March 2008 that she
was 7 months pregnant.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6841191&mesg_id=6841713

Very suspicious. I actually hope the National Enquirer does a good job investigating this. Obviously,
the msm isn't going to touch it.

[seabeyond]

12. is this the video "bouncing" up the stairs in heels at the end of the video. assuming

dont want to click on it again. NO preg woman bounces, lol. and drinking coffee is pretty hard. i did some, but didnt do my tummy well

[mnhtnbb]

17. No. This is video of her as a sportscaster in 1989 during her first pregnancy.

She looks like a woman in late stage of pregnancy.

[seabeyond]

23. ah, thanks. saw that too. she is preg there. n/t

[yardwork]

36. So she showed more in an earlier pregnancy than in her fifth pregnancy?

No way. Not possible. With each baby, a woman's muscles become more stretched. I showed much more and much earlier with my second than my first. I can only imagine how I would have looked by my fifth if I had had three more!

[mnhtnbb]

37. It does raise question marks. I'm sure it's only a matter of time

before this video is scrubbed from the station website.

[NotThisTime]

3. I find it extremely odd about the timing. Having seen the picture of Palin in Feb, she sure didn't

look 6 or 7 months pregnant, or even three months pregnant

[Ernesto-Che-Guevara]

42. I agree. Her stomach was flat

pregnant women don't have flat stomach. There is reason to be skeptical about her being the real mother.

[NashVegas]

4. Even I Stopped Rolling My Eyes When I Heard About That

[no_hypocrisy]

6. What I don't understand is you're pregnant and your daughter has a very communicable

disease. Would you risk contracting mononucleosis while you were pregnant? If you pulled your daughter out of school for her sake and to protect other students from being infected, why would she still be in your household? You'd be risking both your health and that of your unborn child.

[chatnoir]

11. Excellent question

Why would she still be in the home with mono if Palin was pregnant?

[seabeyond]

13. hey.... didnt think about this. will have to ponder. n/t

[vaberella]

30. I thought the girl was staying with an aunt. n/t

[phillysuse]

39. 90% of adults have already been exposed to EBV, the virus

which causes infectious mononucleosis and have antibodies to the virus. Some adults had an inapparent childhood infection, others may have had clinical infectious mononucleosis themselves as adolescents.

It is therefore statistically unlikely that Sarah Palin would have contracted mono and her unborn child would not contract it either since it is spread by exposure to oral secretions.

[Vinca]

7. No woman in her right mind would have her water break,

give a half hour speech and then get on a plane for a long flight. That would not happen in a million years. If that's the story, it's a lie.

[seabeyond]

15. btw she called doctor about it 4 a.m. meeting and speech, what noonish?

then flight and getting in at 10:30 then time change. that is a damn long day with water leakage and about to give birth. any approach i hadnt thought of. the exhaustion and stress it put on the baby

[HereSince1628]

20. Agreed. What does it say about her judgment?

Setting the maternity issue aside, this woman has very odd judgement. And that is why she is being investigated for using her office as governor to get her brother in law fired. Her poor judgement is a consistent part of the emerging biography this alone should turn voters away.

[Kahuna]

33. As a mom, I agree. Not unless you wanted to endanger your life and the baby's.

:crazy:

[remember2000forever]

8. Downs Syndrome is Usually Caused By Old Eggs, Not Young Ones!

That would suggest that the Baby is, indeed, the Governors.

Or.....Perhaps as one DUer speculated, the baby is her daughter's child and really is Inuit and doesn't have Downs Syndrome.

How the hell could they continue to cover that one up?

I think this thing should quiet down and we should all stay on the issues of experience and change.

This really could be a Tempest in a Teapot.

[seabeyond]

19. 80% of down is from women UNDER 35. they also have vast majority of babies

but as you can see, it does happen.

after 35 risk escalates hugely

[NYC Liberal]

29. No, it's a bigger *risk* for women 35+, BUT

most babies with Downs are born to women younger than 35.

[PermanentRevolution]

9. I just had mono last year...

Yeah, it makes you tired for a while, but I was back at work 2-3 weeks after the initial diagnosis.

[LiberalHeart]

10. This is insane. I missed most of a whole school year with mono...

...and then had to drop out of college for a while the following fall for the same reason. Some people are hit hard, very hard by it. Even when I was able to resume normal activity, I couldn't dive into full days. I had to take it easy, build my energy, try to gain back some of the 24 pounds I lost (I was thin to begin with, so the loss was significant). Sure, there are many who have a much easier time of it, but to try to use this girl's absence from school as proof of anything but the stated reason is pointless and mean and unworthy of a liberal's consideration. If, by some outside chance, this theory has any footing in fact, so what? Aren't we the people who champion a woman's right to privacy? You can't dismiss this vile gossip by saying all's fair because of Palin's views on abortion. This story isn't just about her. It's about a sixteen year old girl. It's about an infant. This kind of crap is wrong on every level. Drop it.

[mwb970]

16. So lying by a VP candidate is OK with you?

If, by some outside chance, this theory has any footing in fact, so what?

Your insouciance is stunning. It doesn't matter to you that a candidate for VP may have lied to everyone about something like this? It matters to me! What will she lie about in office?

The R's went berserk when Clinton lied about an irrelevant, private sex affair while in office. They impeached him over it! Are we not allowed to even mention it when one of their candidates does this?

BTW, the mono business is not offered as "proof" but rather as one of many, many pieces that fit together into a picture that is not pretty.

[LiberalHeart]

43. Everyone lies. Everyone. But my comment wasn't supporting lying.

It was supporting a woman's right to privacy in reproductive matters. What a petty and repulsive place for liberals to go digging. If you want to portray Palin as a liar, try finding instances of her lies where you have actual proof instead of tawdry speculation, and where you aren't dragging innocent people (particularly children) into your line of fire, and where you aren't demonizing someone for how she chooses to handle her pregnancy. As I said before, this speculation isn't just about Palin. It's about how a sixteen year old girl MIGHT have handled a pregnancy. If she did have a baby, it is a big so what. Leave it alone.

[jemsan]

21. 1 in 1000 births for women under 30 and 1 in

25 for women over 30. Not as often but it still happens in young women.

[seabeyond]

22. her campaign running her as a "real mom". so she sets daughter up for public humiliation after

creating a lie and you say so what. i say fuck that, what parent would do that to her daughter. just say no to vp spot to protect daughter and be a real mom

[Boz]

24. You lost weight from mono........Hmmmmmm

[Nine]

45. that photo is from 2006 (nt)

[ecstatic]

40. It's the timing. All things considered. nt

[Onlooker]

18. What if she was covering up for her daughter?

Do you really think the American people will see her as a bad mom, or will they simply see her as someone who was trying to protect her daughter? I think putting this issue out there is fine, but I think Obama would be better served to let it drop.

The better issue is if Palin was pregnant and her water broke in Texas, why did she fly back to Alaska, which would put her baby at risk. As is, when she got back to Alaska, she was rushed to the hospital and the delivery was induced. Terrible judgment on her part, in my opinion.

[No Elephants]

26. Making her daughter feel wrong and bad at 17, making her live a lie and deny her baby--yeah, that's

a bad mom in my book. Not to mention a lousy grandmom. Besides, it shows she lies about the most important things.

[BeyondGeography]

27. Watch your language: Obama isn't pushing this

"Obama would be better if we let it drop," is more like it.

[seabeyond]

28. trying to protect daughter then take vp role knowing it will come out pubically humiliating

daughter doesnt jive

but yes i agree, if she took that flight with leakage every woman preg will say wtf

[vaberella]

32. People, LEAVE THIS ALONE!!! The American people see her as a MOTHER PROTECTING her DAUGHTER!!

So how that turns on it's ass. Leave this alone.

[seabeyond]

35. no. i am american people and i see she did exactly the opposite taking vp

and exposing her and daughter to national media and scutiny putting her daughter in position of being exposed. as a protective mother i differ with your opinion and am offended a mother would be so self serving as to put daughter in this position
\
so no

[BumRushDaShow]

34. Obama is NOT covering it.

The INTERNET and some of the media IS.

We as Dems should not generalize that because it is running around the 'net that the candidate has stopped in his tracks from discussing the issues and is going after National Enquirer material. HE doesn't have to and doesn't plan to do any such thing. The story speaks for itself. He can safely sail above the sordidness and let the media's sex, lies, and videotape mentality do all the work for him.

[book_worm]

25. then this is a conspiracy because people should know if this is true or not. If it is it will leak

out.

[Avalux]

31. My background is Infectious Diseases.

Let's start at the beginning...

Mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus; a member of the herpesvirus family and one of the most common human viruses. Most people become infected with EBV during their lifetime but exhibit no symptoms. When infection occurs during the adolescent years and causes an acute immunological response w/symptoms, it's called mononucleosis (increase of white blood cells with a single nucleus).

Mononucleosis is often referred to as "the kissing disease" as it is spread through saliva; she would have contracted it from someone with which she had close personal contact.

Incubation is 4-6 weeks, then acute symptoms of fever, sore throat and swollen lymph glands. There can also be liver and spleen involvement. Difinitive diagnosis is determined by serology and there is no treatment except steroids if symptoms are severe. Most cases resolve in 6-8 weeks; however isolation of the patient is not necessary.

Severe cases are possible but rare; seldom lasting for more than 4 months. If a case of mononucleosis lasts longer, serological evidence is often negative and there more than likely is an underlying chronic illness.

Now - with that background, let me say I have never seen a case of mono in an otherwise healthy young adult lasting more than a couple of months. During this time, the patient does not need to be isolated and can return to activities while symptoms resolve.

If this story is true and Ms. Palin did remain at home, isolated for 5 months, I would expect she had an extremely rare case of mono or has another chronic illness impacting her recovery.

[Motown_Johnny]

41. Thank You.. that is exactly the answer I was looking for.

So, it is possible that the young woman did have mono for 5 months, but very unlikely.


unless I misunderstood your post

[Avalux]

44. Yes, possible but very unlikely.

Of course I am not privy to her medical history, but by what we know and recent photos she appears to be an otherwise a healthy young woman. I've never seen a case of mono last that long.

[WeDidIt]

38. we had a lot of cases of mono amongst the girls i my high school

In almost every case it was the cover story for a pregnancy