Weitzman's illness puts politics in its place

He lost the election and won his life back.

Last time we checked on Howard Weitzman, he was being swept out of office as Nassau County comptroller by voters in a decidedly anti-incumbent mood.

But defeat at the polls wasn't the only challenge Weitzman had to face in 2009 - not even his toughest one.

As he was raising campaign funds and gathering endorsements, he'd been diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening blood disorder called amyloidosis. Doctors described it as a progressive metabolic disease characterized by abnormal deposits of protein in the major organs.

Now that'll put a tough re-election campaign into perspective!

"I'm feeling great," Weitzman said at week's end. "It's been 18 months since I was diagnosed. The disease is under control, and I've really been able to rebuild my health."

A big part of the credit, he said, goes to his doctors at Boston University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering, who unlike many physicians, were actually familiar with the rare condition and knew how to treat it.

It's too soon to be planning a return to politics, he said, although he's keeping up with the news. ("So sad," he says of the state takeover of county finances. "You can't promise huge tax cuts then refuse to cut services to make that up.")

But the former pol is out raising money again - this time to support the hospitals that treated him and to fight the disease that nearly took his life.

"I'm organizing a fundraiser for amyloidosis research. Just as important as the money, we need to increase awareness of the disease. It's not easy raising money for something most people have never heard of. But that's exactly what we're doing here."

Weitzman promises big-name entertainment and lots of old friends and supporters from in and out of politics.

Details at 516-684-9839 or amyloidosisfundraiser.com.

"This is something I need to do now," he said. "These people really did save my life."

ASKED AND UNANSWERED: The snow is a joke, right? Somebody's sick idea of a joke? . . . How soon 'til the first bumper sticker appears in state-controlled Nassau County: "Vote the New Bums out"? You know they're coming . . . And wasn't this inevitable too: The tip-of-a-lifetime headlines when Long Beach waitress Patricia Eisel won $21.5 million in Lotto? . . . What is it about Labrador retrievers that make the breed AKC No. 1 on Long Island again? Don't ask a Labrador owner unless you have two hours for the explanation. But in fairness, owners of Yorkies (4th on this year's list) and shih tzus (5th) are just as head-over-paws for their breeds . . . Now that Republicans and Democrats sat together for the State of the Union, they're all getting along great, right?

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