PART 2
RUTH: 1941–47
Chapter Fifteen
“You’ll never guess who I just got a call from!” Robert bounded into Ruth’s office, grinning.
“My father?” Ruth asked, a bitter note of sarcasm in her voice. In the five years since Bernard learned about the first lobotomies performed at Emeraldine, he had all but stopped speaking to Robert. The family had long ago ceased to have their monthly dinners, and Helen made sure to seat the men as far apart from each other as possible when they were obligated to be together at holiday gatherings. It was difficult for Ruth to feel the sting of Bernard’s disapproval yet again, particularly when it wasn’t directed only at her but also at her husband. Though that feeling was more than offset by the positive reception lobotomy had received by the hospital board and the medical community. It had become an increasingly sought-after treatment for severely ill patients, and Robert and Edward, having now lobotomized more than three hundred people, were the go-to experts to perform it.
“No, not your father. Why would I want a call from the daft old man anyway?”
“Robert.” Ruth gave him a sharp, pleading look. She understood Robert’s disdain, but still, this was her father, her family.
“Sorry. The man I just spoke to is a contemporary of your father’s but, I dare say, he’s even more important than Mr. Bernard Emeraldine.” Ruth tilted her head quizzically and gave Robert a look somewhere between a grimace and a smile. Robert was so dramatic. “Joseph Kennedy,” Robert continued as he lifted his eyebrows, looking to Ruth to share his excitement.
“Joseph Kennedy? From Boston?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“What would he call you for?”
“Well, as it so happens, he has a very confidential assignment for Eddie and me. If I were inclined to sell stories to the papers, this would be a juicy one. Of course, I would never violate the confidentiality of a patient.”
“A patient? Joseph Kennedy is a patient?”
“No, no. He isn’t, but he . . .” Robert paused. “Before I tell you more, you must understand that this is truly top secret.”
“Robert! Have I ever been one to gossip? Anyway, if it’s a medical issue, I have an ethical responsibility to protect the information. So, what is it?”
“Well, you know that Joe Kennedy has a very large family, nine children?” Ruth nodded. Of course she did, the Kennedy clan was very well-known. “But I bet you didn’t know that one of his children is very ill.” Robert raised his eyebrows as if to underscore the significance of the confidential information. “Apparently, his eldest daughter, Rosemary, has always been mentally unstable. Difficult. The family has kept this private—in fact, even when she met the king of England, they managed to hide it.”
“How sad for her, and for them.”
“Yes, well, things have gotten very bad. She has been having periodic convulsions and violent outbursts; she is generally irritable and irrational, and has become impossible for the family to handle. Their doctor suggested she would be a strong candidate for our lobotomy.”
“Really?”
“Indeed. Joe called me himself because he wanted to explain the delicacy of the situation and the urgency of the matter. Afterward, I spoke to the family physician who recommended me, and he gave me more of the medical details of the case. Ruth, she would benefit so greatly from lobotomy, and they want me and Eddie to go to Boston as soon as possible and perform the procedure. Just think of the publicity for us!”
Ruth felt momentarily overcome. Here was a family much like hers, suffering as she and her parents had with Harry, but with the hope of a cure. This was really happening. Her greatest dreams realized. “The publicity isn’t the point,” she said, smiling, “but how wonderful for them. We’re really doing it, offering a new way to heal people. When will you leave?”