Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of gun violence that some readers may find distressing.
The 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, suffered a tragic ending only two years after taking office. He was fatally shot while passing through Dallas, Texas with his wife, Jackie Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally in a motorcade on November 22, 1963. Soon after, the autopsy report revealed shocking details about the late former president’s labyrinth of health issues that were conveniently kept secret.
The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland confirmed in an autopsy report that Kennedy had died as a ‘result of two perforating gunshot wounds’ fired from behind and a level above him, per The New York Times . One bullet pierced through his neck while the other hit his head, which gravely damaged his brain and lowered his chances of survival. The Warren Commission determined that a U.S. Marine veteran, Lee Harvey Oswald, had shot Kennedy, per PBS .
However, the reports also discovered that the politician was suffering from an autoimmune disease called Addison’s disease, per The Washington Post ; it is a rare adrenal disorder that results in dysfunction of the adrenal glands. Kennedy was diagnosed with the disease long before his presidential run, in 1947.
this photo is from 1954 and the result of a botched surgery to insert a metal plate into his spine to address back problems. he developed a terrible staph infection, with the incision becoming an “open, gaping, very sickly looking hole.” the plate was removed 4 months later. https://t.co/lQPPGU5Vkx
— QuoProQuid (@TNOQuoProQuid) September 22, 2024
Over the years, his health worsened, as Navy Medical Corps endocrinologist, Dr. Lee R. Mandel revealed, throwing hypothyroidism to the mix by 1955, per the Los Angeles Times . He was also taking hydrocortisone, prednisone, liothyronine, and fludrocortisone in addition to painkillers, antibiotics, antihistamines, antispasmodics, and antipsychotics, per the source. Despite selling himself as the ‘healthiest’ presidential candidate in the country and denying any health concerns, his assassination eventually exposed the many issues he had been hiding from the public.
Dr. Jeffrey Kelman from Washington checked Kennedy’s health history and disclosed to PBS , “He was never healthy. I mean, the image you get of vigor and progressive health wasn’t true. He was playing through pain most of the presidency.” He highlighted that Kennedy would have got a federal disability or retirement with his disability in today’s time as his medication list was enough to disable him.
People keep talking about JFK being the image of youthful vigor. He was chronically ill throughout his life. He received last rites three times (the Catholic Church’s sacrament for someone on their death bed) as an adult before even becoming president. He was on a substantial…
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) July 12, 2024
The former president’s health issues were not limited to his adulthood as Kennedy nearly died from Scarlet Fever as a child, per another report by PBS . He also suffered from severe digestive problems like spastic colitis or irritable bowel syndrome. He developed urinal tract infections, prostatitis, and a duodenal ulcer in his youth. Kennedy was also rejected from the U.S. Army and the Navy during World War II volunteer service because of his severe lower back pain and spine issues that developed while playing football in college. Kennedy was already quite sickly before his assassination took place at the age of 46.
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