![image showing Rosemary Kennedy, sister of John F Kennedy, pictured in 1938. In 1941, aged 23, her father forced her to undergo a lobotomy, due to her mood swings, seizures and intellectual disability. This procedure rendered her permanently incapacitated and unable to speak. [1327×2000]](5ea114e2-90b6-5f63-b097-1c0c4b671b5c.jpg)
Rosemary Kennedy, sister of John F Kennedy, pictured in 1938. In 1941, aged 23, her father forced her to undergo a lobotomy, due to her mood swings, seizures and intellectual disability. This procedure rendered her permanently incapacitated and unable to speak. [1327×2000]
Stardust_of_Ziggy on June 16th, 2021 at 23:43 UTC »
"Rose and Joe worried that Rosemary’s behavior could create a bad reputation not just for herself but for the whole family" - She was sneaking out of the convent she was in and going to bars. The Kennedy boys were being groomed for office and Rosemary was a blight
Daddy-Bullet on June 17th, 2021 at 00:32 UTC »
It’s a sad and disturbing story...After the lobotomy she stayed at St.Colettas in Jefferson, Wi. Unfortunately, the old campus has been for sale for about 10 years now and just dilapidating, though, they do continue care in their other buildings.
laughingasparagus on June 17th, 2021 at 01:08 UTC »
A testimony from one of the two doctors who performed the lobotomy:
“We went through the top of the head, I think Rosemary 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." The instrument Dr. Watts used looked like a butter knife. He swung it up and down to cut brain tissue. "We put an instrument inside", he said. As Dr. Watts cut, Dr. Freeman asked Rosemary some questions. For example, he asked her to recite the Lord's Prayer or sing "God Bless America" or count backward. "We made an estimate on how far to cut based on how she responded." When Rosemary began to become incoherent, they stopped.”