February 11, 2009 8:56 PM
- Text
JFK Was In More Pain Than Most Knew
(CBS)
President John F. Kennedy suffered more pain and illness than previously known, and took as many as eight medications a day, according to a published report.
Newly disclosed medical files from the last eight years of Kennedy's life, including X-rays and prescription records, show he took painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, stimulants and sleeping pills, as well as hormones to keep him alive, according to a story for Sunday editions of The New York Times.
The records were revealed by historian Robert Dallek, who is writing a biography, "An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963," to be published next year by Little, Brown.
Dallek was allowed to examine the documents last spring by a committee of three longtime Kennedy family associates, who for decades refused all requests to look at the records. He reviewed the documents with the assistance of physician Jeffrey A. Kelman, but was not allowed to make photocopies, the newspaper said.
Their findings appear in the December issue of The Atlantic.
As president, Kennedy was famous for having a bad back, and since his death, biographers have pieced together details of other illnesses, including persistent digestive problems and Addison's disease, a life-threatening lack of adrenal function, the newspaper said.
The records reveal that Kennedy variously took codeine, Demerol and methadone for pain; Ritalin, a stimulant; meprobamate and librium for anxiety; barbiturates for sleep; thyroid hormone; and injections of a blood derivative, gamma globulin, presumably to combat infections.
The new information also shows Kennedy went to great lengths to conceal his ailments, even denying to reporters that he had Addison's disease. Other presidents, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, also kept their illnesses secret.
Writing in The Atlantic, Dallek said while Kennedy's secrecy can be taken as "another stain on his oft-criticized character," the records also reveal the "quiet stoicism of a man struggling to endure extraordinary pain and distress."
Newly disclosed medical files from the last eight years of Kennedy's life, including X-rays and prescription records, show he took painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, stimulants and sleeping pills, as well as hormones to keep him alive, according to a story for Sunday editions of The New York Times.
The records were revealed by historian Robert Dallek, who is writing a biography, "An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963," to be published next year by Little, Brown.
Dallek was allowed to examine the documents last spring by a committee of three longtime Kennedy family associates, who for decades refused all requests to look at the records. He reviewed the documents with the assistance of physician Jeffrey A. Kelman, but was not allowed to make photocopies, the newspaper said.
Their findings appear in the December issue of The Atlantic.
As president, Kennedy was famous for having a bad back, and since his death, biographers have pieced together details of other illnesses, including persistent digestive problems and Addison's disease, a life-threatening lack of adrenal function, the newspaper said.
The records reveal that Kennedy variously took codeine, Demerol and methadone for pain; Ritalin, a stimulant; meprobamate and librium for anxiety; barbiturates for sleep; thyroid hormone; and injections of a blood derivative, gamma globulin, presumably to combat infections.
The new information also shows Kennedy went to great lengths to conceal his ailments, even denying to reporters that he had Addison's disease. Other presidents, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, also kept their illnesses secret.
Writing in The Atlantic, Dallek said while Kennedy's secrecy can be taken as "another stain on his oft-criticized character," the records also reveal the "quiet stoicism of a man struggling to endure extraordinary pain and distress."
Latest Now in National
- Some glimmer of hope in Ohio employment
- State senator, wife attacked at western NY casino
- State senator, wife attacked at western NY casino
- Oldest federal judge remembered at Kan. service
- Suspect charged in gay GA man's videotaped beating
- Questions raised over gun NH boy used in school
- Questions raised over gun NH boy used in school
- Cold weather returns to the South; snow possible
- State senator, wife, attacked at western NY casino
- Hundreds gather in Kansas to remember oldest judge
- King memorial group head angry at monument change
- Family, teachers remember Powell boys in Tacoma
- US faces tough fight in cash smuggling crackdown
- US faces tough fight in cash smuggling crackdown
- Texans on wrong side of border fence grow anxious
- Texans on wrong side of border fence grow anxious
- Remains in Calif. ID'd as serial killers' victim
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Yes sir! Fashion Week trends going military
- Gurung at NY Fashion Week: From edgy to elegant
- Some glimmer of hope in Ohio employment
- Yes sir! Fashion Week trends going military
on Facebook
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Occupy protestors kicked out of CPAC
- CPAC: Will Sarah Palin spring a surprise?
- Beyonce and Jay-Z post first photos of Blue Ivy Carter
on CBS News
