Eunice Kennedy Shriver Still Critical

(AP)  The Kennedy family says Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy, remains in critical condition.

The 79-year-old Shriver entered Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for treatment of post-surgical infection. Doctors operated last Tuesday to stem the infection but her condition has not changed.

Shriver had a benign pancreatic tumor removed at the hospital on October 12 and doctors predicted a full recovery. She was released October 21.

But she was readmitted last Monday after complaining of pain and that's when doctors discovered the infection.

A statement from her son, Maryland Delegate Mark Shriver, says the family is grateful for the support and prayers they've received.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Shriver's niece, canceled her appearance at the funeral of a Churchville, Md., sailor killed in the USS Cole attack to be at the hospital Friday, her spokesman said.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., canceled a weekend trip to Massachusetts to remain near his ailing sister.

Hospital spokeswoman Beth Simpkins said family members were visiting Shriver, but she would not identify them and said they did not want to speak to the media.

Hospital officials referred all further questions to Mark Shriver's office.

At the time of the October 12 surgery, Shriver's doctor, John Cameron, said the five-hour operation was "very successful" and he expected her to make a full recovery.

Shriver, whose sister Rosemary was mentally retarded, organized the first Special Olympics in 1968 in Chicago. The two-day event drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Canada.

Now, more than 1 million athletes in some 160 countries participate in Special Olympics meets each year.

Her husband, Sargent Shriver, was the founding director of the Peace Corps and the Democratic vice presidential candidate on the 1972 ticket with George McGovern.

Shriver is the mother of five children: Mark, NBC reporter Maria Shriver (who is married to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger), Robert, Timothy and Anthony.


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