Rosemary Kennedy, the third child and first daughter of Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy, was born in the middle of a virulent Spanish influenza sweeping the country in September 1918.
Pregnant women had feared the influenza affecting their unborn children.
But while Kennedy matriarch Rose had little to worry about on that score, perhaps the late arrival of her doctor might have a more disturbing effect on her newborn baby's health.
Dr. Good, the attending physician, was late arriving when Rose went into labor. The nurse pushed Rose's knees together and told her not to push but to wait for the doctor.
Rose realized something was different about this, her third, baby. Rosemary, nicknamed Rosie, a beautiful little girl, rarely cried.
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Rosie and Jack in their youth. She adored her brothers but once she was forced to undergo a lobotomy she didn't even recognize them. The eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose, was shunned for much of her life because of the fear and ignorance of her father
Rosie in her early twenties was gorgeous and vivacious. She had learning disabilities but was misdiagnosed
Once she underwent the lobotomy, forced upon her by her father,Rosie was a shadow of herself. Here, she enjoys sun and waves on a boat ride on a trip to Hyannis in her later years
'Had Dr. Good's delayed arrival deprived the newborn of oxygen at a critical time?' the author Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff writes in The Missing Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy and the Secret Bonds of Four Kennedys published by Bancroft Press. The author and her mother frequently visited her mother's sister, Sister Paulus, who was charged with Rosemary's care. They interacted extensively with Rosie and loved Rosie as well.
In Rose Kennedy's own memoir, Times to Remember, the Kennedy matriarch wrote, 'She was slow in everything, and some things she seemed unable to learn how to do, or do well or with consistency.
'When she was old enough for childish sports, I noticed, for instance, that she couldn't steer her sled. When she was old enough to learn a little reading and writing, the letters and words were extremely difficult for her, and instead of writing from left to right on a page, she wrote in the opposite direction'.
A letter Rosie wrote to Santa when she was maybe nine years of age illustrated her learning issues.
'Dear Santa Clause I am writing to you I want a doll and doll carriage and some paper doll block boad little set of dishes your frend rose kennedy 1311 noble rd brookline mass
Mr. santa clause
Northes Pole 2
Rosemary attended the Edward Devotion public school in Brookline, Mass for the first two years of kindergarten and was found to be deficient in basic cognitive skills. She didn't interact well with fellow students although at home, she adored her brothers, Jack and Joe, and they lavished attention on her.
With her issues, at age seven she couldn't return to Edward Devotion School.
Five Kennedy kids: Rosie (standing) with her two older brothers, and her younger sisters Kathleen and Eunice
Rosemary's First Communion in 1926. Joe Kennedy consulted the head of the Psychology Department at Harvard University, his alma mater, where they conducted mental faculty tests on Rosie and diagnosed her as 'mentally retarded' and suggested institutionalization
Rosie as a freckle-faced fifteen-year-old. Her reading, writing, spelling and counting skills never got above a fourth-grade level even though she studied hard and was able to add three triple digit numbers.
Joe Kennedy consulted the head of the Psychology Department at Harvard University, his alma mater, where they conducted mental faculty tests on Rosie and diagnosed her as 'mentally retarded' and suggested institutionalization.
A deeply shocked Rose wrote, 'My first reaction was shock and surprise. Like all mothers, I had prayed that my child would be normal and healthy…I had to endure the anguish of every mother who learns that her child will have to face the world with a devastating handicap'.
Little did Rose know the extent of the 'handicap' that the once vibrant girl would face in 1941, after her father gave his consent for a pre-frontal lobotomy on his 23-year-old daughter.
In the interim, institutionalization was out of the question, so the little girl stayed at home working with tutors and specialists as well as her mother from ages eight to sixteen.
Rosie had been given the Binet intelligence test before first grade - as required by Massachusetts state law—which showed her IQ between 60 and 70. That is equivalent to a mental age between eight and twelve in an adult.
At age thirteen in 1934, the good Catholic Kennedys decided the nuns could educate their daughter, so they sent Rosie to the Sacred Heart Convent in Elmhurst, Providence, Rhode Island, where she was educated in a separate classroom from other students.
The Kennedys thanked them for their efforts by giving the school a new tennis court.
Rosemary's reading, writing, spelling and counting skills never got above a fourth-grade level even though she studied hard and was able to add three triple digit numbers.
She returned to Brookline to be tutored again by specialists as well her mother who even tried to help develop her physical coordination by playing tennis and catch with her.
Glowingly happy back at home, Rosie wanted to go out on her own just like her brothers and younger sisters.
Newsreel footage of Jack and Rosie before departing for England. She adored her brotherJack and he lavished attention on her. Rosie wanted to go out on her own just like her brothers and younger sisters
From left: Kathleen, Rose, and Rosemary, then 19, in their gowns ready to be presented at court to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (mother of the current Queen) in May, 1938. Rosemary was radiant and had practiced her curtsy for hours at the Vacani School of Dancing near Harrods, the London department store
She was getting edgy with the constant supervision in her life so she began sneaking out.
When she was caught, her anger erupted in violent tantrums.
'Screaming like a wild animal, she would fall to the ground, her arms and legs flailing as she kicked and cried out in rage', writes the author.
Joe was appointed to United States Ambassador to England in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt when Rosie was nineteen. The family moved to 13-14 Princes Gate, a palatial estate overlooking Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, London.
It was a high point in Rosemary's life when she and her younger sister, Kathleen, were presented at court to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on May 11, 1938.
The New York Times reported, 'Miss Rosemary Kennedy had a picture dress of white tulle embroidered with silver paillettes and worn over white satin with a train similar to her mother's'. She carried a bouquet of lilies of the valley.
Kathleen was stunning but was only a shadow of her sister's beauty.
Rosemary was radiant and had practiced her curtsy for hours at the Vacani School of Dancing near Harrods.
Kathleen and Rosemary moved up the red carpet together, curtsied perfectly to the King and Queen and then as Rosemary was turning to the right, she tripped but did not fall. No one responded and Rose never mentioned it.
All but Joe and Rosemary returned to the United States in September 1939 when England entered World War II and Rose reveled in having her father all to herself.
She also read stories to children at a Montessori School in Hertfordshire, loving the interaction with the young children.
By spring of 1940, with Hitler threatening to invade England, Joe's personal secretary and confidant, Eddie Moore, brought Rosemary back to the States.
Once again, Rosie was with her adored brothers, her favorite being Jack who filled out Rosie's dance card. She also wanted to dance with other men but Rose kept her separated.
That fall, Rosemary was sent to a convent school in Washington, D.C., because her family was worried about her developing body and sexuality.
The nuns soon discovered that the voluptuous beauty had been sneaking out at night and meeting men in taverns.
Joe brought her back home and assigned a governess to her to watch her at all times.
Rosie was angry. She wanted her freedom like her brothers and sisters. Her emotional outbursts increased becoming more violent and she began having seizures that were diagnosed as epilepsy.
Sister Paulus, Rosie, Eunice, and Rose Kennedy at Hyannis Port when Rosemary came for a visit. In 1949, on learning that Rosie was being sexually abused at Craig House, Joe had her moved to Saint Coletta, a home for the mentally retarded in southeastern Jefferson, Wisconsin. She was cared for by Sister Paulus
Rosie holds up her rosary for the camera, here with Sister Paulus, her mother Rose and another nun. Once Joe was incapacitated, Rose gave the nuns permission to take Rosie out shopping, a great lifelong love of Rose's. Rosie was allowed out to restaurants and social outings – improving her moods and behavior
Joe Kennedy was conflicted. He didn't know how to have her treated and was embarrassed. He feared his daughter's condition could impact his political ambitions for him and his sons..
He read about this new procedure, a pre-frontal lobotomy that promised to be the definitive treatment.
In November 1941, unbeknownst to his family, Joe took Rosemary to be examined by Dr. Walter Freeman, a neurologist and psychiatrist who was also a George Washington University professor,
Freeman diagnosed Rosemary's condition as 'agitated depression', and suggested that a new neurosurgical procedure, a prefrontal lobotomy, would end the rages and 'render her happy and content'.
Joe gave Freeman the okay to proceed that fall at George Washington University Hospital.
It was the worst day of Rosemary's life.
Freeman was not a surgeon but a professor who performed theatrics at his lectures and 'thrived on horror and fascination.'
Ted Kennedy seemed to be a frequent visitor but JFK and Bobby Kennedy are not seen in any of the photos after the lobotomy
Ted and Rosie enjoy a sunny lunch date. The left side of Rosie's body had been partially paralyzed. Her head titled, frozen near her left shoulder. The fingers of her left hand became gnarled and useless.
Rosemary dances with family friend, Edward Moore before she was sent away
It was a much sadder dance as Ted held Rosie's hands and took her for a spin
Ted, Rosie, and Eunice. Rosie started visiting Boston and Hyannis Port. There was family love back in her life - after years of isolation
He hooked up with Dr. James Watts, a neurosurgeon and the two practiced on brains in cadavers.
The unseemly pair raided sanitariums and mental institutions for candidates and if the surgery was botched, there was no complaint.
Freeman described the surgery: 'We went through the top of the head, I think she was awake. She had a mild tranquilizer. I made a surgical incision in the brain through the skull. It was near the front. It was on both sides. We just made a small incision, no more than an inch'.
With what looked like a butter knife, he moved it up and down slicing through brain tissue.
When Rosemary stopped singing 'God Bless America' and became incoherent, they ceased their butchery.
Rosemary was packed off again to an institution, Craig House in Beacon, New York, a private psychiatric hospital an hour north of Manhattan.
Dr. Walter Freeman, left, and Dr. James W. Watts study an X ray in 1941. Freeman diagnosed Rosemary's condition as 'agitated depression', and suggested that a new neurosurgical procedure, a prefrontal lobotomy, would end the rages and 'render her happy and content'
No family ever visited. Joe told no one of the medical procedure he had approved. He lied to Rose and said Rosie had become worse and doctors suggested institutionalization with no visitors – but he never said where she was.
The doctor in charge at Craig House, Dr. Clarence Slocum did not believe in psychoanalysis but supported a little occupational therapy like woodworking or weaving and a douche of alternate hot and cold water as well as warm shallow baths.
Other patients were allowed to go out to the movies, meals or shopping - but not Rosemary.
'The left side of Rosie's body had been partially paralyzed. Her head titled, frozen near her left shoulder. The fingers of her left hand became gnarled and useless'.
Now lethargic, incontinent, she couldn't talk and relied on grunting, screaming and shrieking.
She relearned walking, brushing her teeth, simple dressing.
The barbaric treatment did not erase her temper tantrums but she became worse and was assigned two guards in her living quarters.
In 1949, on learning that Rosie was being sexually abused at Craig House, Joe had her moved to Saint Coletta, a home for the mentally retarded in southeastern Jefferson, Wisconsin.
Run by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Assissi, it was here with the help of the author's aunt, Sister Paulus Koehler, that Rosemary started to improve.
John Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy visit with Rosemary. She was incontinent, she couldn't talk and relied on grunting, screaming and shrieking
Rosie with the Shriver kids Back: from left, Mark, Bobby, Tim, Maria and Anthony
A Kennedy Family Reunion - Rosemary is surrounding by her loving relatives
Sister Paulus felt a profound connection to Rosie and understood for the first time, that Rosie was talking to her with her eyes. She was assigned as her full-time caretaker in 1968.
Sister Paulus treated Rosie like an equal. She brought some joy into Rosie's life for the first time since the surgery.
Sister Paulus loved her calling as a nun and she loved Rosie.
For twenty years, the rest of the Kennedy family had no idea what happened to Rosie and never investigated, taking the word of the patriarch.
After Joe suffered a stroke in December 1961 and became mute but for grunts, Rose learned the whereabouts of her oldest daughter when Joe was no longer physically capable of paying bills. He was to die in 1969.
Rose gave the nuns permission to take Rosie out shopping, a great lifelong love of Rose's. Rosie was now allowed out to restaurants and social outings – improving her moods and behavior.
Rosie loved window shopping, looking at brightly colored clothes, eating out at restaurants. There was now some joy in her life now.
Rose decided to visit and Rosie waited for her arrival with two nuns at the airport in Milwaukee. When Rosie sighted her mother deboarding the plane, she ran to her. Rose opened her arms to greet her daughter and Rosie raised her arms and beat her mother on the chest shrieking.
'Rosemary knew her mother had not been with her when she needed her most.' She was very angry.
Rosie always spoke of herself as 'she'.
The author danced with Rosie. Her aunt, Sister Paulus swam in the pool with Rosie and helped the Sister prepare food in the kitchen, she washed vegetables and stirred the soup.
She learned how to make her bed, play miniature golf, and was an avid daily walker.
She loved flirting with the boys, didn't talk to the girls and loved being the center of attention.
Eunice and Rosie, who learned how to make her bed, play miniature golf, and was an avid daily walker once she moved to Wisconsin. In the early 1960s, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw how unjustly and unfairly people with intellectual disabilities were treated, she began the Special Olympics
Jean Kennedy Smith, Rosie, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Rosie loved being the center of attention
Sister Paulus, Anthony Shriver, Rosie, and Eunice. Sister Paulus felt a profound connection to Rosie and understood for the first time, that Rosie was talking to her with her eyes. She was assigned as her full-time caretaker in 1968
Anthony Shriver and Rosie in Miami.
Sister Paulus swam in the pool with Rosie and helped Sister Paulus prepare food in the kitchen, she washed vegetables and stirred the soup.
Rosie and Jean Kennedy Smith on family vacation
Now that Rosie was discovered, Ted Kennedy visited whom Rosie loved the most. Jack and Bobby never came nor their wives, or the husbands or children of Rosie's siblings except for Anthony Shriver, Eunice's fourth son who started coming in the 1980s.
But Jean, Pat, Eunice and Ted Kennedy came frequently. John Kennedy Jr. came with his bride, Carolyn Bessette.
Eunice Shriver, Rosie's younger sister, convinced the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation to use its resources and efforts to help the mentally disabled.
She influenced her brother Jack to create the President's Panel on Reardation.
In 1962 Eunice started Camp Shriver that evolved into The Special Olympics for children with special needs.
In 1989, Anthony Shriver founded Best Buddies Intl, a global nonprofit organization that fosters one-to-one friendship between people with and without intellectual disabilities.
Without Rosemary, the Kennedy and Shriver families would never have become so active in helping the developmentally disabled', Bobby Shriver said.
So the Shrivers turned around an unspeakable horror into what became a blessing for others with special needs.
'My mother was the driver of Rosemary's life', Anthony Shriver said.
Rosie smiles during the holiday festivities
Rosie naps surrounded with gifts at Christmas just before her death on January 7, 2005
Rosie started visiting Boston and Hyannis Port. There was family love now back in her life --- after years of isolation.
'It was a great gift. She gave us the ability and sense of being needed -- when you care for a human being in a complete way. It makes you feel wanted and needed. It makes you feel like you're doing God's work. Rosie gave us that opportunity', Anthony told the author.
Sister Paulus died in March, 1996, at age eighty-six.
Rosie died on January 7, 2005 at the age of eighty-six. A Saint Coletta nun sat by Rosie's coffin.
When asked by Rosie's siblings what was really wrong with Rosemary, was she really retarded, the nun responded, 'I believe she was like me. She had problems reading in school like I did. They called me a slow learner'.
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