The doctor erased her smile forever (9 photos)

The 23-year-old girl's face expressed absolutely nothing. It resembled a motionless, eerie mask, as if in front of us was a wax doll. Joseph Kennedy, her father, literally gave his daughter into the hands of doctors.





It was September 13, 1918. The baby was in a hurry to be born, and the doctor, on the contrary, was late. The nurse was inexperienced and nervously begged the woman in labor to wait. Mrs. Kennedy had to wait for about two hours and finally baby Rose (Rosie) was born, becoming the third child in the family. Outwardly, the girl was as strong and healthy as her two older brothers.

At baptism, she was named Rose Marie in honor of her mother and grandmothers, and everyone could not get enough of how calm the child was. The older boys often kept their mother awake at night, but Rosie not only slept soundly all night, but also rarely cried or called her parents to her.



Little Rosie

For a long time, the family did not notice that Rosie was somehow too different from the other children. She was lethargic, a little slow, and ordinary simple skills were difficult for her. If at one year old Jack was already eating with a spoon, then Rosie couldn’t even really hold it. Mom smiled and thought that this was a girl, she shouldn’t look like the two older mischief makers.

The parents began to worry when their second daughter was born - playful, lively, and began to walk quite quickly. It was only when Mrs. Kennedy compared her two daughters that she sounded the alarm. Rosie was immediately taken to the best doctors.

Their words that the baby was noticeably behind and that it was unlikely that she would ever achieve any academic success sounded like a sentence. In the dynasty of such successful and ambitious Kennedys, a defective child was suddenly born.



Joseph Kennedy with his wife

The Kennedys were descendants of Irish people who came to the United States around the mid-19th century. They were quickly able to achieve success without any connections or support. In 1884, the first Kennedy assumed public office.

Joseph Kennedy, Rose's dad, made a fortune in the stock market, but he aspired to politics. The family was not only his loving support, but also an excellent background to his personality: a beautiful and caring wife, many smart and ambitious children with a wonderful future. Children were supposed to be proud of and instill in them from childhood that a great future awaited them. Rosie somehow didn’t fit into this pastoral picture at all.



The large Kennedy family. Joseph in the middle

The girl grew up extremely sweet and friendly. Her wide, white-toothed smile even became Rose’s calling card, and wherever she appeared with her parents, everyone was touched by the beauty of Kennedy’s eldest daughter.

And the family was afraid. They were terribly afraid that someone would see that their Rosie was not like everyone else. Her deficiency was hidden not only from family friends, but also from relatives. And when the girl turned 11 years old, they first put her away in a boarding school for special children, and then they even wanted to transfer her to a school at the monastery. The Kennedys told their friends that their Rosie takes care of others almost from the cradle, well, she has such a big heart that most likely the eldest will devote herself to good deeds and God.



Rosie with her mother

But Rose was still not completely mentally retarded. She quickly realized what she was being prepared for and she didn’t like it at all.

Even though at 18 she had read books like Alice in Wonderland, she was physically completely mature. She liked to go dancing (always accompanied by one of her brothers), she was slim, beautiful, and her smile really became Rosie’s calling card. Her parents, carefully monitoring her, brought her into the world and in 1938 she became debutante of the year in Great Britain.

But a situation happened when in England debutante girls were introduced to the queen, they had to make a low curtsey. Rosie, of course, practiced it, but at the most crucial moment she staggered and almost fell. This was not uncommon at all - many debutantes could stumble or do something funny out of excitement. But for Kennedy the situation became a tragedy. Joseph categorically stated: a girl can disgrace the whole family. The father gave everything to ensure that his boys succeeded in their careers; he spent years making connections so that Rose’s older brothers would rise as high as possible on the social elevator.And so, a defective screw got into this mechanism. Rose.



In 1940, the Kennedys returned to the United States and the easygoing and good-natured Rosie suddenly began to experience outbursts of anger. She definitely felt the tense atmosphere in the house and, as best she could, expressed her attitude towards it. She rebelled. She could even run away from home. After all, she grew up and it became increasingly difficult to control her.

Unfortunately, it was then that it became “fashionable” to discuss such a “progressive” innovation as a lobotomy. The Portuguese scientist argued that with the help of the simplest tools it is possible to easily and simply correct the human brain. No aggression, no depression, you just need to know where to hit. Joseph Kennedy waited until his wife left town for a while and took Rosie to the clinic.



I don’t know how such a smart man as Joseph Kennedy could not understand that he was taking his own daughter to the butcher. After the lobotomy procedure, Rose became just a vegetable, unable to move or speak. From an ordinary girl with a mild autism spectrum disorder who fit in perfectly with society and could live a fairly happy life, she became... nothing.

Her mother couldn't stop crying: "They erased her smile."

Since November 1941, sweet Rosie was just a shell. She was taken to a private hospital, and her brothers and sisters were told that Rose had chosen the path of a recluse. Pretty soon people in the house simply stopped talking about her. Mom did not visit her daughter for 20 years, and Joseph never came.



This whole disgusting story surfaced only when John began to run for president. Journalists not only found Rosie, but also visited her at the clinic. Shocked John came to his sister. He remembered her wide smile, and met his completely absent look.

Who knows? Did the Kennedy family pay for what Joseph did to his own daughter?

John Kennedy was assassinated, then his brother was assassinated. A variety of people, far from its ideals, joined the close-knit clan.

The family paid in full for what happened to Rosie Kennedy. She survived her parents and brothers and died in 2005.



This is how Rosie lived out her days in a private hospital