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Patrick Bouvier Kennedy | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | (aged 2 days) [1] | August 9, 1963
Burial place | Arlington National Cemetery |
Parents | |
Relatives | Kennedy family Bouvier family |
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (August 7–9, 1963) was the youngest child of United States President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. His elder siblings were Caroline, John Jr., and Arabella.
Born prematurely, Kennedy lived just over 39 hours before dying from complications of hyaline membrane disease (HMD), after desperate attempts to save him failed. [1] His infant death left the first family and nation in mourning. It brought HMD (later called infantile respiratory distress syndrome) into the public consciousness, inspiring further research.
In August 1963, the 34-year-old Jacqueline Kennedy was in her third year as first lady and in the third trimester of her fifth pregnancy. She had suffered a miscarriage in 1955, followed the next year by a stillborn baby girl that the Kennedys planned to name Arabella after a ship with that name. Two healthy children followed: Caroline in 1957 and John Jr. in 1960. As John had also been premature, she asked her obstetrician, John W. Walsh, to accompany her when she and her children spent the summer in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The nearby Otis Air Force Base Hospital had also prepared a suite for her in case it was necessary. [2]
On the morning of Wednesday, August 7, Jackie took Caroline and John Jr. for a pony ride in Osterville, Massachusetts. While the children were riding, Kennedy felt labor pains. Walsh was summoned, and they were taken by helicopter to Otis Air Force Base. [3]
President Kennedy was at the White House at the time. August 7 was the 20th anniversary of the day the United States Navy had rescued him in World War II after he had spent five days marooned on an island in the Pacific. Kennedy had been in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, killing two of his crew. His heroics had helped launch his political career. PT-109 and August 7 were never far from his mind, and he kept a scale model of the boat on a shelf in the Oval Office and each day used a metal tie clasp shaped like a torpedo boat, with PT 109 stamped across its bow. [2]
All of which may explain why Kennedy's friend and fellow World War II naval veteran Ben Bradlee is certain that when the president's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, hurried into the Oval Office at 11:43 a.m. on August 7, a Wednesday, to report that Jackie had gone into premature labor on Cape Cod, there was "no way in God's earth" that he did not think, My child is being born 20 years to the day when I was rescued, a coincidence providing an additional emotional dimension to a day that would be among the most traumatic of his life.
While his father was aboard Air Force One, the infant Kennedy was born by emergency caesarean section at 12:52 p.m. on August 7, 1963, at the Otis Air Force Base Hospital in Bourne, Massachusetts, five and a half weeks prematurely. The caesarean section was performed by Dr. John W. Walsh, who had also delivered Mrs. Kennedy's son John Jr. in 1960. [4] The infant's birth weight was 4 pounds 10+1⁄2 ounces (2.11 kg). [5] He was the first child born to a serving U.S. president and first lady since the 19th century. [1] [6]
Shortly after birth, Kennedy developed symptoms of hyaline membrane disease (HMD), now called infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS). It was detected by breathing difficulties within minutes. The president arrived, saw his son in distress, and sent for a chaplain. The infant was quickly baptized, named Patrick after his great-grandfather Patrick Joseph Kennedy (1858–1929). He was given the middle name of Bouvier after his mother's maiden name. [1] [3]
The president was allowed to wheel the baby in an incubator to the First Lady's bedside. James E. Drorbaught, the pediatric specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, was flown by helicopter from Boston to consult on his case, and he recommended transfer to Boston. Five hours after birth, the infant, accompanied by Dr. Drorbaught, was rushed by ambulance to Boston Children's Hospital, 70 miles (110 km) away, in under 90 minutes. The transfer to the hospital in Boston was initially reported as a "precautionary measure," the White House said. The baby's condition was accurately reported as HMD, but it was also reported that it would take at least four days to assess his condition and that he was being given medication to assist his condition. [3]
At the time, all that could be done for a baby with hyaline membrane disease was to keep the patient's blood chemistry as close to normal as possible. [7] Led by Dr. Drorbaught, who stayed awake the entire time, the hospital tried everything possible to save the infant's life. The baby was given hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in which he was placed in a hyperbaric chamber filled with 100% oxygen and pressurized to greater than one atmosphere. At the time, the treatment was revolutionary; the New York Times described it as "one of the newest interests of medical researchers." [8]
Kennedy died at 4:04 a.m. on August 9 "despite a desperate medical effort to save him" and had lived 39 hours and 12 minutes. At the time of the infant's death, the president was outside the room with the hyperbaric chamber with his brother, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. [1] The first lady, then 34, remained at Otis Air Force Base Hospital recovering from the caesarean section. She was told of her son's death by Dr. Walsh. (He would console her again after her husband's assassination and was aboard Air Force One with her as she returned from Dallas with the president's body.) [4] She was given a sedative and slept until the president flew from Boston. Very little was said about the family's reaction. White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger stated of the first lady's condition: "Given the circumstances, her condition is satisfactory." The president, who had reportedly slept only four hours since the birth, was photographed arriving at Otis Air Force Base looking "grave and appearing tired." [1]
A small funeral mass was held on August 10, 1963 in the private chapel of Cardinal Richard Cushing in Boston. The president's mother Rose Kennedy was in Paris and was told not to return for the funeral, but the first lady's sister Lee Radziwill had already flown in from Greece before the baby died.
Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston, performed the funeral mass, as he would for John F. Kennedy, assassinated 104 days later. [9] Siblings Caroline, then five years old, and John Jr., two and a half, did not attend. [1]
The child was initially buried at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, the president's hometown. His body and that of his stillborn sister Arabella were reinterred on December 5, 1963, alongside their father, at Arlington National Cemetery and later moved to their permanent graves in Section 45, Grid U-35. [10] [11]
Kennedy's death made 1963 a "pivotal year" for neonatology, then still a relatively-new field, according to an examination of its history in the journal Neonatology . [12] The increased public awareness of HMD led to a corresponding increase in research of the disease, [13] spurring development of new medical ventilators, blood gas tests and newborn intensive-care practices in both the United States and Europe. [12] The first trials of a potential treatment for HMD, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, were published within a few years but were not considered a clinical success. [14] According to Dr. Suhas M. Nafday, director of Newborn Services at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, the child's death "energized the neonatal researchers into action to look for an effective management of respiratory distress syndrome." [15] In a review of advances in clinical medicine, researcher Thor Hansen observed that the "medical profession did not have the tools to help" Kennedy, "the newborn son of arguably the most powerful man in the world," but 50 years later, treatment of his condition would be considered routine, with survival expected. [16]
The parents were deeply affected by the death of their child. Secret Service agent Clint Hill recalled the couple having "a distinctly closer relationship" that was visible after the child's death. Press Secretary Pierre Salinger believed that the couple had been brought closer by the presidency but even more so by the child's death. [6]
Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because vaginal delivery would put the mother or child at risk. Reasons for the operation include obstructed labor, twin pregnancy, high blood pressure in the mother, breech birth, shoulder presentation, and problems with the placenta or umbilical cord. A caesarean delivery may be performed based upon the shape of the mother's pelvis or history of a previous C-section. A trial of vaginal birth after C-section may be possible. The World Health Organization recommends that caesarean section be performed only when medically necessary.
Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of president John F. Kennedy. A popular first lady, she endeared herself to the American public with her devotion to her family, dedication to the historic preservation of the White House, the campaigns she led to preserve and restore historic landmarks and architecture along with her interest in American history, culture, and arts. During her lifetime, she was regarded as an international icon for her unique fashion choices, and her work as a cultural ambassador of the United States made her very popular globally.
Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million human births globally. In developed countries, most deliveries occur in hospitals, while in developing countries most are home births.
Virginia Apgar was an American physician, obstetrical anesthesiologist and medical researcher, best known as the inventor of the Apgar score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after birth in order to combat infant mortality. In 1952, she developed the 10-point Apgar score to assist physicians and nurses in assessing the status of newborns. Given at one minute and five minutes after birth, the Apgar test measures a child's breathing, skin color, reflexes, motion, and heart rate. A friend said, "She probably did more than any other physician to bring the problem of birth defects out of back rooms." She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and introduced obstetrical considerations to the established field of neonatology.
Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also known as surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants caused by developmental insufficiency of pulmonary surfactant production and structural immaturity in the lungs. It can also be a consequence of neonatal infection and can result from a genetic problem with the production of surfactant-associated proteins.
The Kennedy curse is a series of deaths, accidents, assassinations, and other calamities involving members of the American Kennedy family. The alleged curse has primarily struck the descendants of businessman Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., but it has also affected family friends, associates, and other relatives. Political assassinations and plane crashes have been the most common manifestations of the "curse". Following the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, Ted Kennedy is quoted saying he questioned if "some awful curse did actually hang over all the Kennedys." However skeptics argue that it is not improbable for a large extended family to experience similar events over the course of several generations. Another source has written, "Let’s just call it what it is: the natural fallout when you’re a member of a family riddled with entitled, underachieving drunks, drug addicts and adulterers, whose treatment of women is historically deplorable."
Stephanie Keene, better known by the pseudonym Baby K, was an anencephalic baby who became the center of a major American court case and a debate among bioethicists.
Transient tachypnea of the newborn is a respiratory problem that can be seen in the newborn shortly after delivery. It is caused by retained fetal lung fluid due to impaired clearance mechanisms. It is the most common cause of respiratory distress in term neonates. It consists of a period of tachypnea. Usually, this condition resolves over 24–72 hours. Treatment is supportive and may include supplemental oxygen and antibiotics. The chest x-ray shows hyperinflation of the lungs including prominent pulmonary vascular markings, flattening of the diaphragm, and fluid in the horizontal fissure of the right lung.
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. The NICU is divided into several areas, including a critical care area for babies who require close monitoring and intervention, an intermediate care area for infants who are stable but still require specialized care, and a step down unit where babies who are ready to leave the hospital can receive additional care before being discharged.
The Portland Hospital for Women and Children is a private maternity hospital on Great Portland Street, City of Westminster, London, England, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America.
Mary Ellen Avery, also known as Mel, was an American pediatrician. In the 1950s, Avery's pioneering research efforts helped lead to the discovery of the main cause of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature babies: her identification of surfactant led to the development of replacement therapy for premature infants and has been credited with saving over 830,000 lives. Her childhood, mentors, drive, and education inspired Avery to be the visionary that she was. In 1991 President George H.W. Bush conferred the National Medal of Science on Avery for her work on RDS.
Dr. Karthik Nagesh is a neonatologist in India. He has been practicing neonatal intensive care since 1992 at the Manipal Hospital in Bangalore. He is well known in India for his pioneering work in intensive care for sick neonates especially, Surfactant Therapy and ventilation for sick babies with respiratory distress. He is currently the Chairman of the Manipal Advanced Children's Center and Chairman and HOD of Neonatology and Neonatal ICUs at the Manipal Hospitals Group as well as an adjunct professor of paediatrics, KMC at Manipal University.
Godfrey T. McHugh was a United States Air Force general and served as military aide to President John F. Kennedy.
William F. Bernhard was an American cardiovascular surgeon, Emeritus Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and cardiovascular surgical pioneer.
Neelam Kler is an Indian neonatologist, known for her pioneering work on neonatal intensive care and ventilation. She is credited with developing neonatal care to better the survival rate of extremely tiny preterm babies to 90 percent. The Government of India honoured her with the third-highest civilian award, Padmabhushan, in 2014, for her services to the fields of medicine and neonatology.
Herbert Barrie, was a British consultant paediatrician and a leading figure in neonatology. He was a pioneer in the emerging specialty of paediatrics and neonatal medicine; and he developed one of the first neonatal intensive care units in London.
Angela Okolo is a Nigerian professor of pediatrics and child health, neonatologist in the department of Pediatrics, Federal Medical Center, Asaba and President of the Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM).
Samuel Zachary Levine was an American pediatrician who was a professor of pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College. His research focused on neonatology, particularly physiology of premature infants. He served as president of both th Society for Pediatric Research and served the American Pediatric Society.
Christian P. Speer is a German pediatrician and Professor of Pediatrics specialized in neonatology at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg. Speer is known for his scientific and educational contributions in neonatal medicine.
Henry Lewis Halliday was a British-Irish paediatrician and neonatologist. In 2021, Halliday was awarded the James Spence Medal for research into neonatology, for coordinating two of the largest neonatal multicentre trials for prevention and treatment of a number of neonatal respiratory illnesses and for a breakthrough in the development of a new lung surfactant that brought relief to very small babies suffering from infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).