Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was the son of former United States President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. He was alive for just over 39 hours before his infant death mourned the then first family and the entire nation. One of the main consequences of her life and death during her early childhood was the awareness of Hyaline Membrane Disease (HMD) which she created. After his death, the disease entered the public domain and consciousness, which inspired much research.
Biography of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy
Patrick B. Kennedy was born August 7, 1963 and died August 9, 1963. He was named after his grandfather Joseph Patrick Kennedy and his mother’s maiden name, Bouvier. He was the younger brother of John Junior and Caroline, aged 2½ and 5 respectively when he was born. He weighed around 2.11 kg at birth and was the first child of a President and First Lady of the United States to serve in office since the 19th century.
The day of his birth was significant enough for America and his father personally marked the 20th anniversary of the rescue of President Kennedy by the Navy after five days spent on an island in the Pacific.
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was delivered by an emergency caesarean section at Otis Air Force Base Hospital in Massachusetts. He lived a short but significant life, as the cause of his death would lead to extensive scientific research and a breakthrough in neonatology, saving millions of infant lives.
Also, at the time of his death, neonatology (a branch of medicine focused on the care, development and illness of infants) was relatively new. A child of the first family, his condition led to increased public awareness, which led to intense research and many developments and inventions of neonatal intensive care practices, medical ventilators and blood gas testing in the United States. United and Europe.
What happened to him?
Shortly after birth, Patrick began showing signs that he was having trouble breathing as his first cry was barely audible. He was placed in an incubator when he was 34 weeks old (5.5 weeks earlier). James E. Drorbaught, a specialist pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, flew in to see her case. Dr. Drorbaught recommended that they transfer him to Boston Hospital as a precaution. He was later diagnosed with Hyaline Membrane Disease (HMD), now called Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (IRDS).
The doctor and his team stayed awake the whole time trying to do everything to save Patrick’s life. He received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) during which he was placed in a hyperbaric chamber filled with 100% oxygen and pressurized to more than one atmosphere.
Despite the revolutionary measures taken by thePatrick, in the hospital, died at 9:04 a.m. on the morning of August 9, 1963. He lived approximately 39 hours, 12 minutes. The then-president and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, were outside the hyperbaric chamber at the time of his death. His mother remained at Otis Air Force Base Hospital and was still recovering from the C-section. Dr. John Walsh, her personal obstetrician, informed her of her son’s death, accompanying him to the hospital.
On August 10, 1963, a small funeral was held in Cardinal Richard Cushing’s private chapel in Boston. Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was first buried in a cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, in his father’s hometown. He was later reinterred with his sister (Arabella) alongside their father at Arlington National Cemetery on December 5, 1963.
John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy were deeply affected by the death of Patrick, who would have been their last child. The president then signed into law a grant authorizing the use of $2.1 billion in today’s dollars for research on newborns. The grant was sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIHCD), an institution created by Kennedy and her sister, Eunice Shriver.
Unfortunately, that same year seems to be a very tragic year for the Kennedys as President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, 105 days after the death of Patrick B. Kennedy.