Rosemary Kennedy: biography, the consequences of lobotomy

Rosemary Kennedy is the daughter of a well-known family, whose life until recently was shrouded in mystery. The name of this woman became widely known after the publication of the book "The Disappeared Kennedy", authored by E. Kohler-Pentakroff. What was the reason that the beloved child was hid from the whole world because of the circumstances and was forgotten? The answer to this question is in the article.

So far nothing has foreshadowed troubles ...

The Kennedy family could not even think that such a joyous event - the birth of the first daughter, who was already the third child, would eventually be overshadowed by tragic events. And while the bright and joyful day of September 13, 1918 was beautiful and happy. In such a respectable family, a very beautiful and healthy girl appeared.

The child was given the name Rose Mary Kennedy. Parents who were for the period of birth were: mother - 28 years old, father - 30 - called her loving Rosie or Rosemary.

First Signals

At first the baby was not different from other newborn children, but in time, parents noticed that the child still lags behind in development from her peers. Rosemary was not the first child in this family, so it was comparable to whom. It was noticeable that she began to crawl, talk and walk much later than the due date.

Surviving parents soon calmed down, because the luminaries of medicine, who examined the girl, promised that soon everything will be okay - the child will catch up with his peers, and there is nothing terrible in this lag. However, this time the doctors made an erroneous verdict. Soon it became clear that Rosemary Kennedy really lags behind in development, she is mentally retarded.

Family Decision

The first reaction to such a terrible diagnosis was dictated by a great affection for the innocent and deeply beloved child. The Kennedy family decided to work together to make sure that the little girl lived a happy life and was surrounded by love and attention.

The father of the family insisted that the daughter will live with them. All proposals to send the girl to a specialized institution were rejected. Parents, brothers and sisters Rosemary hoped that they could heal her with their love.

Witnesses say that for several years this attitude towards the girl really gave results.

Rosemary's life in the family

In addition to Rose Mary, there were eight other children in the family, and they all loved her sister very much. Each in his own way tried to attract the girl to their business.

Noticing that the girl loves boat competitions and that it gives her great joy to be in the boat that leads, the brothers always took her with them for such kind of entertainment. Moreover, my sister has always been very obedient.

The girl's mother, Rosa Fitzgerald, noticed that her daughter really likes it when she sings and plays the piano. This pastime has become frequent in this family. Mother played and sang, and Rosemary danced, which, by the way, she did well.

The girl did it so well that her brothers, to please her, often invited her to dance during festivities and parties. This idyll was clouded only by one girl's question: "Why can I dance only with my brothers, and not with someone else?"

She also liked the girl very much when she was presented with compliments. Witnesses claimed that a compliment about her beautiful smile could make her smile for hours. Rosemary watched her appearance: beautiful outfits, hairstyles and manicure were her passion.

The aggravation of the situation

With age, Rosemary from a sweet, good-natured, smiling child began to turn into an aggressive teenager. Her emotions sometimes just went off scale, and family members found it difficult to control it. The girl grew up, she could not be under constant supervision, and this was fraught with the disclosure of family secrets.

Mother was worried about this situation, and she continued to show her daughter to various specialists in the field of psychiatry. Doctors kept repeating as one: "There is no hope that Rosemary Kennedy will recover." Moreover, doctors advised to immediately identify a daughter in a specialized clinic, where she will be followed by proper supervision and care.

The act that changed everything

It should be noted that the role of the father in this family was very great. The decisive word was always behind him. And the head of the family believed that his son John was looking for a bright future. One of Kennedy's president, is his dream. Over time, his father began to think about the fact that Rosemary's morbid condition could negatively affect the career of his beloved son.

When the father of the family, Joseph Patrick, was appointed to be the US ambassador to the United Kingdom, the family became a member of the high society. This served to the fact that the older daughters, Rosemary and Kathleen, were soon introduced to the royal family. The ceremony itself was held at Buckingham Palace, and it was here that Rosemary Kennedy accomplished an act that changed her future destiny.

In fact, nothing terrible happened, making a curtsey, the young lady stumbled, she hesitated, and this gave rise to the fact that the society began to talk about her unhealthy condition.

Fatal solution

"Delinquent" Rosemary was hid in a monastery. It should be noted that the behavior of the girl began to change not for the better: the attacks of aggression became more frequent, there was an inadequate reaction to various life situations. Uncontrollable attacks of anger ended in the fact that Rosemary showed great strength, she could afford to launch a person into an object. The girl began to escape from her place of imprisonment.

At the very beginning of 1941 the head of the family began to be interested in experimental neurosurgery. The fact that lobotomy cures mentally ill people, he told his wife. The mother instructed one of her daughters to study the issue of lobotomy, because at that time the American Medical Association was an ardent opponent of such interference in the human brain.

Kathleen, who was interested in the procedure for conducting the operation, concluded that Rosemary would not do any good for such an operation. She reported this to her mother.

The mother of the family has brought her doubts to the knowledge of Joseph Patrick. However, he left the conclusions of the female half without attention.

The father, even without consulting his family, decides to do his daughter surgery - lobotomy. He insists that prompt intervention be conducted without delay.

Lobotomy: a brief medical report

Lobotomy of the brain is an operation connected with the destruction of the cortex of the frontal lobes of the brain. Previously, this surgical intervention was carried out to facilitate the occurrence of diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, criminal behavior, anxiety fears and conditions. In our time, such an operation is almost not done.

Lobotomy often becomes the cause of a complete change in personality, leading to mental inferiority.

Medical statistics say that from 1936 to 1951 in the US, this operation was carried over by more than 18,000 patients. In the USSR since 1940, lobotomy is prohibited.

Operation Details

Joseph Kennedy took his decision after consulting with well-known surgeons in the field of lobotomy, who promised him a good result. So, in the autumn of 1941, secretly from his wife and children, the head of the Kennedy family appointed an operation day for his eldest daughter.

The operation was conducted by Dr. Freeman and James. Rosemary was conscious during the lobotomy. Moreover, she even answered the doctor's questions. According to one of the doctors, the patient was cut in the brain area to a depth of two and a half centimeters. The depth of the cuts was controlled by the behavior of the girl, when the doctors heard the incoherent speech, the surgical intervention was discontinued.

Result of operative intervention

Rosemary was 23 years old at the time of the operation. There was no improvement in this procedure. Rosemary Kennedy after lobotomy Began to feel much worse: in her development, she returned in infancy.

The problem with outbreaks of aggression, of course, was solved, but the girl herself became absolutely helpless.

Rosemary was sent to one of the specialized schools in Wisconsin. Here she stayed until her last day.

Rosemary's relationship with his family after lobotomy

John Kennedy, the president of the United States, though indirectly, but still played a role in the fact that his sister was crossed out of the family, was consigned to oblivion. Such a high position, and here one of the family members of the head of state suffers from dementia ...

It was his father's decision to do his best to avoid spreading any information about the misfortune that happened to one of the members of the Kennedy family.

It turned out that the brothers and sisters of the girl had never looked for a meeting with her, they were never interested in her future destiny. Moreover, the girl's name was stopped remembering in domestic conversations.

Probably only one mother secretly visited her child once a year, and these visits were very rare and strictly classified.

Time has done its job, the third child of Kennedy's couple soon began to forget. The secret family of Kennedy was owned only by their family doctor - Dr. Brown. It is rumored that the security service was also aware of the operation.

Life after surgery Rosemary

As already mentioned, the girl was placed in a specialized medical institution. Mentality girls were equated to the development of a two-year-old: she could not eat, dress, or wash herself. Rosemary needed constant supervision and care.

In the territory of a special clinic, over time, a private house was erected for a special patient, where she lived until her death.

It should be noted that Rosemary survived not only her parents, but also her famous brothers. Having lived up to the age of 86, the woman died in 2005, according to doctors, from natural causes.