The Tragic Story of Rosemary Kennedy, Who Was Never the Same After a Lobotomy at 23

In 1941, Rosemary Kennedy disappeared from society; she was 23. Rosemary was the third child of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, the first girl. Born September 13, 1918, the Spanish flu was in Boston, Mass during this time.

The Spanish flu was taking over the city, which led to many doctors being unavailable. When her mother was ready to give birth to her, the doctor was not available. The midwife ordered Rose to keep her legs closed, which forced the baby's head to stay in the birth canal for up to two hours—causing a lack of oxygen to the baby, which could be why she developed slower than expected.

Rosemary struggled to learn to read and was labeled as intellectually disabled. However, the family kept these hidden so the family would not be associated with defective genes. Rosemary was sent to the best schools and struggled with reading, writing, and comprehension. Rosemary was also known to have ¨fits, ¨ which now we know were seizures.

In 1938 Joseph Kennedy moved his family to the UK, and Rosemary thrived. She was placed in a Catholic school, where the nuns took special care of Rosemary. Including taking the time to educate her; she was even being trained to be a teacher's aide. Some say she was placed in this school to be out of the public eye; whatever the real story, Rosemary loved it, stating, ¨the most wonderful place I've been to".

Her happiness did not go unnoticed by her father; in a letter to his wife, he stated:

"She is contented completely to be teaching with Mother Isabel. She is happy, looks better than she ever did in her life, is not the slightest bit lonesome, and loves to get letters from [her siblings] telling her how lucky she is to be over here."

Even with her happiness, in 1940, her father returned to the US, and her life took a drastic turn. The family placed her in a school similar to that in the UK. Except, it was not the same; Rosemary did not thrive.

Her sister Eunice stated, "Rosemary was not making progress but seemed instead to be going backward, and at 22, she was becoming increasingly irritable and difficult."

Sneaking out at night and meeting boys, it sounds like she was a typical girl in her teens or 20s. Yet the nuns at the convent worried that she might get pregnant or get an STD. Moreover, her behavior was unacceptable for a political family such as the Kennedys. Mainly it was when the two oldest Kennedy boys would be getting ready to begin their political careers.

Her parents, Joseph and Rose, began to worry that her behavior would create a bad reputation for the family and damage his two sons' political futures. When Rosemary was 23, her father found out about a new type of surgery that was being done to help mood swings, calm those who had violent outbursts, cure depression and alcoholism, and will take away all her problems.

Joseph Kennedy decided this was perfect for his daughter; the surgery was a lobotomy. Joseph approved of this procedure without informing his wife. In November 1941, Rosemary Kennedy had a lobotomy.

Lobotomy, also called prefrontal leukotomy, is a surgical procedure in which the nerve pathways in a lobe or lobes of the brain are severed from those in other areas.

The procedure was done by Dr. Watts and Dr. Freeman. The pioneers of lobotomy. Unfortunately, Rosemary's case was unsuccessful, as her mental capacity diminished to that of a child. She was unable to walk or speak coherently and became incontinent.

Rosemary had to be institutionalized and relied on 24/7 care for the rest of her life. She could never walk again and only could speak a few words. She lived 64 years in the facility. It later was discovered that there was an order to have no visitors because they could disrupt and confuse her.

It is said Joseph Kennedy did this to avoid any turmoil for the political pursuits of the family. Ultimately left alone and forgotten. It wasn't until her father had a stroke that Rosemary's mother visited her 20 years later. It was reported this was when her mother realized what Joseph had done to her.

It was then that JFK would sign the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning amendment to the social security act, and later on, would become the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rosemary never recovered to her vibrant young self that she was before the lobotomy and lived until the age of 86; she died in 2005, institutionalized.

Lobotomies are no longer performed; however, they are not illegal in the US. Dr. Walter Freeman performed the last lobotomy in 1967, and the patient died.