Mental Illness and the Suffering of a Kennedy
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Brief History
President Kennedy said "You can tell the quality of a nation by how well they treat the mentally ill." The Kennedy family played a strong role in many areas of mental illness. Eunice Shriver-Kennedy was the founder of the Special Olympics, a highly successful organization for the mentally retarded. The history of why she developed the Special Olympics sheds light on how people thought of mental disorders less than 100 years ago. It is a naive chapter in American history that many people are unaware of. It has to do with her older sister Rosemary who was probably mentally retarded (or some researchers believe she was more severely learning disabled). Eunice stared the Special Olympics for her sister when she discovered (about 20 years after it occurred) the horrible procedure and result that had enfolded on Rosemary. When Eunice Kennedy tried to name the organization after her sister Rosemary, the family refused and instead demanded it be named after her older brother.
Rosemary Kennedy, 86; President's Disabled Sister
By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 8, 2005; Page B06
Rosemary Kennedy, 86, the developmentally disabled oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy, died Jan. 7 at Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin.
Miss Kennedy was the oldest of the surviving Kennedy siblings, who include Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).
She had lived most of her life in a facility in Wisconsin since undergoing a lobotomy more than 60 years ago.
Lobotomy - Surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain to sever one or more nerve tracts, a technique formerly used to treat certain mental disorders but now rarely performed.
Miss Kennedy was characterized as slow and shy-seeming from early childhood, possibly dyslexic and apparently retarded. But behavioral problems that began in her early twenties "In the Fall of 1941", her father arranged for Rosemary to have a lobotomy to address her "mood changes" according to published accounts. Before the surgury Rosemary could read write and do arithmetic, but was noticeably different from her siblings. She was "probably the first mentally retarded person to receive a lobotomy," Jack El-Hai wrote in a 2001 article in The Washington Post Magazine.
A 1987 Post excerpt of a book by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said that to Miss Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a lobotomy -- a brain operation then regarded as a miracle treatment -- "was an obvious solution" to the frustrations she experienced in trying to find a place for herself in a hard-driving family.
However, according to Goodwin's account, "something went terribly wrong," and she emerged "far worse" than ever.
The institution that was chosen for her, according to the article, was St. Coletta of Wisconsin, near Jefferson. According to a statement St. Coletta issued last night, it aids the developmentally disabled and cared for her for 57 years.
Miss Kennedy liked to send letters to her nephews and nieces, and she visited relatives in Washington and Florida, the statement said. It said she liked visiting the Cape Cod home where she and her sisters and brothers grew up.
In a statement released last night through a spokeswoman for Sen. Kennedy, the family said that Miss Kennedy "has gone today to be with God." Her death was attributed to natural causes.
"She left us peacefully, with her brothers and sisters at her side," it said.
Miss Kennedy was "a lifelong jewel to every member of our family," the statement said, adding that from her earliest years, "her mental retardation was a continuing inspiration to each of us, and a powerful source of our family's commitment to do all we can to help all persons with disabilities live full and productive lives."
Her sister Eunice Shriver is known as the founder of the Special Olympics, and some accounts describe Rosemary as an inspiration for the athletic competition aimed at those with intellectual disabilities.
According to published accounts, Miss Kennedy had been presented to the king and queen of England in the 1930s while her father was the U.S. ambassador.
After the family's return from England, it was reported that her mental skills had deteriorated and her "customary good nature" had given way to violent behavior that no one could understand, Goodwin wrote.
Miss Kennedy was born in Boston in 1918. Her oldest brother, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., died at 29 on a World War II mission.
President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 at age 46. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was 42 when he was assassinated in 1968. Their sister Kathleen, was 28 when she was killed in an airplane crash in 1948.
The surviving sisters are Eunice, 83, Patricia, 80, and Jean, 76. Sen. Kennedy, 72, is the only survivor among the four brothers.
Thoughts
Rosemary’s story probably seems sadder now, than it did sixty years ago. What a horrible procedure she had to endure, a lobotomy, agreed upon by her father to cure her of a mental illness. It’s a wonder she even survived the procedure. Brain surgery today is a such a high risk, but to go through the procedure of “having an incision cut into the frontal lobe of the brain, proceeding with the severing of nerve tracts” to cure her is a horrifying thought. Not sure of the fathers personality, I wonder if he made his decision based on the idea that if it worked, Rosemary could fulfill a “normal” life, or if the decision was based more on his own image, like the article briefly hints. Not all parents put their child’s safety and needs before their own.
I have read many articles and stories of how mental illnesses where dealt with before they were understood. Those who were diagnosed seemed to be treated like a plague and used for the latest study or medical procedure. Even with disorders less visible than Rosemary’s, such as, postpartum depression, were taken to extreme, for example Dr. Weir Mitchell and his “rest cure”.
Mental illnesses have a broader range of acceptance than they did a hundred to eighty years ago. But to briefly contradict my answer, we would not have been able to accomplish or come as far as we have today if various experiments and procedures were not preformed long ago.
What Do You Think? Loading...
"Something went terribly wrong", and she emerged "far worse" than ever. Yes a depressed(there are plenty of evidence as to why she had developed a depression) women had a large portion of her brains cut out through 2 holes in her skull. In fact the area of the brain mostly associated with human personality(Joe didnt like it so he had it cut out). There are plenty of evidence through her writtings, documented math skills, above average(but not royal) social skills that she was not retarded. Slow compared to her family and singled out but not retarded. Thus becoming more akward, more angry, more stupid, and more slow due to insecurity. Joe Kennedy was a sick bastard that didnt listen to the knowledge of the day saying brain surgery was murder not sience. Joe had his way, nothing "went wrong". It was murder.
Jackie 18 months ago
A little disgusted that society thinks it okay to test drugs and procedures on people, no less, possible mentally diabled persons that would not have the capacity to understand that their rights are being violated. I say this from experience as my 18 months old son and myself are recent victims of clinicaltrials.gov.