Joe Biden reportedly hurt himself over the weekend while playing with one of his dogs and was sent to a medical specialist for evaluation.
“On Saturday Nov. 28, President-elect Biden slipped while playing with his dog Major, and twisted his ankle,” Biden’s office said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, he will be examined this afternoon by an orthopedist.”
Biden “visited an orthopedist at Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists in Newark, Delaware, for an examination Sunday afternoon,” the Hartford Courant reported. “Reporters covering the president-elect were not afforded the opportunity to see Biden enter the doctor’s office, despite multiple requests.”
update from @JonathanTamari: "Your pooler and others asked repeatedly to get off the van to be in position to see the president elect depart but were denied without explanation other than 'we’re not getting off the bus'"
— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) November 29, 2020
Biden, 78, is set to be the oldest president in U.S. history. His doctor since 2009, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, released a statement about Biden’s injury, saying that Biden “sustained a sprain of his right foot.”
“Initial X-rays are reassuring that there is no obvious fracture and he will be getting an additional CT for more detailed imaging,” O’Connor continued.
CNN highlighted a report last year on Biden’s health from O’Connor:
Biden is being treated for non-valvular atrial fibrillation, or AFib — an irregular heartbeat that O’Connor said Biden experiences no symptoms of. He takes Crestor to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as Eliquis to prevent blood clots, Nexium for acid reflux, and Allegra and a nasal spray for seasonal allergies. …
The most significant medical event in Biden’s history, his doctor wrote, came in 1988, when he suffered a brain aneurysm. During surgery, doctors found a second aneurysm that had not bled, which they also treated. …
During his hospitalization after that surgery, Biden, who was in the Senate at the time, suffered deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. Doctors at the time inserted an “inferior vena cava filter,” which would prevent future blood clots from reaching the heart and lungs, and treated him with an oral anti-coagulant for several months.
Biden’s gallbladder was removed in 2003, and he’s had multiple surgeries and physical treatments for orthopedic injuries and sports medicine, O’Connor wrote.
He has had several non-melanoma skin cancer lesions surgically removed, which O’Connor described as a result of Biden — who often talks about working as a lifeguard growing up — spending “a good deal of time in the sun in his youth.” Biden has also had sinus and nasal surgeries.
“He takes three common prescription medications and two common over-the-counter medications,” O’Connor added in the report from last year. “He has no known medical allergies. He does not use any tobacco products, does not drink alcohol at all, and he works out at least five days a week.”
Biden sustained the injury while playing with one of his two German Shepherds. The Biden family is also reportedly planning on getting a cat.
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.