John F. Kennedy used ‘the idea of sex’ to stay ‘positive’ after near-fatal spinal surgery
John F. Kennedy used ‘the idea of sex’ to stay ‘positive’ after near-fatal spinal surgery
Shelby StivaleSun, October 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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John F. Kennedy in 1960Credit: Bettmann ArchiveKey Points -
John F. Kennedy underwent two spinal fusions in 1954 and nearly died during the recovery process.
The “idea of sex” was the only thing that helped him get through it, a new book claimed.
“Jack had a wealthy man’s attitude toward doctors: he would find one who would do what he wanted,” author Laurence Leamer wrote.
The late John F. Kennedy went through spinal fusion surgery in October 1954 — and only one thing could help him recover.
“It was the idea of sex, as much as anything else, that kept Jack positive,” author Laurence Leamer wrote in his book, Ladies’ Man: The Careless Heart of John F. Kennedy, which was released earlier this month. The former president apparently had a photo of Marilyn Monroe “pinned to his door” in the wake of his recovery. He famously met the movie star that same year.
Grace Kelly apparently visited Kennedy after the surgery “pretending to be a nurse,” the book claims. The third woman who checked on his well-being was Priscilla Johnson, “whom Jack had not yet been able to add to his list of conquests.”
While the promise of women kept him in high spirits, Kennedy nearly died during the operation. Kennedy made the call to “permanently fix his back” before undergoing the “risky” procedure. “Jack had a wealthy man’s attitude toward doctors: he would find one who would do what he wanted,” the book noted.
Kennedy’s spinal surgery was to treat severe chronic back pain, which started after a 1937 football injury.
When a doctor agreed, Kennedy had “two spinal fusions in a single day,” which was not the standard. The three-hour surgery was “deemed a success,” but the aftermath was brutal.
“Three days later Jack got a urinary tract infection and then fell into a coma,” Leamer’s book reads. “The Kennedys arrived as priests administered the last rites.”
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Kennedy’s wife, Jackie, “sat stoically by the bed, not knowing if she would soon be a widow.” Eventually, Kennedy came out of the coma. But that was hardly the end of his medical struggles.
“He had a large wound on his back, a souvenir of the surgery,” the book detailed. “His nonspecific prostatitis chose this moment to return—another souvenir from his teenage sexual indulgences. It made urination painful, and the pus was back as well.”
‘Ladies’ Man: The Careless Heart of John F. Kennedy’ by Laurence LeamerCredit: G.P. Putnam's Sons
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Despite the pain he felt after the unsuccessful surgery, Kennedy was remembered as “a caring lover” by several women who slept with him. One woman, Gunilla Von Post, was referred to in Ladies’ Man as someone “sensitive and aware of him as he was of her.”
“She could tell his back troubled him, but it did not matter,” Leamer wrote, adding that Von Post noted Kennedy apparently made love with “his hands, with his marvelous, healthy Irish skin, with his mouth—with everything.”
Ladies’ Man: The Careless Heart of John F. Kennedy is out now.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
