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Show gentle strengthening of the spine, and he faith- -' fully supplements his 15 minutes of daily exercises with to half hour swims in the White House pool (which is kept constantly at '' a soothing 90 degrees). More recently, the President nas taken to plunging into the colder waters off Cape Cod from the fantail of his father's cruiser M arlin. Although hefsT aHuperb in feet first, just to be. on the safe side. One of the surprise developments arising from the President's back problem was the discovery that his left leg is a trifle shorter than his right. To compensate for this, he now wears lift in the heel, of his left shoe ; a quartef-inc- h including his sneakers and beach sandals-- . In addition to his 1961 back injury, the JFK ailments that arouse the most questidnsTarethf back injury he got playing football at Harvard 20-min- -- ute 52-fo- ot divei-phe-now-goe- s gland function is currently normal. The" adrenal gland trouble caused a flurry of reports. that the President had Addison's disease. The truth: he didn't. Addison's disease is marked by a bronzelike pigmentation of the skin, severe prostration, progessive anemia, low blood ' pressure, diarrhea, and digestive disturbances. None of these has troubled JFK. What one newspaper man calls "the President's semiperpetuafnstheTresuitrof a life-tiexposure to wind, sun, and salt water and of "the pure luck in haying free access to a nice little summer shack on Cape Cod and a winter one at Palm Beach." Mr. Kennedy scorns pill taking, even to the point of avoiding aspirin. But he is a good pa tient who follow doctors' orders, although his leadershipusometimes comes to the fore even in medicine. For examplelhe fameTKenedjrrbck ing chair was not prescribed by Dr. Travell. Instead, the President spotted bnen her office, took a fancy to it, and immediately ordered one like it. His doctor does, however, approve oihthe rocking chair as a source of gentle, constant exercise that What Some Other Presidents Suffered George Washington: Smallpox, malaria, TB, influenza, typhoid fever, staph infection, deafness (died of jstrep throat and 'medical mismanagement, age 67 ). '77ZZ7ZZ Thomas Jefferson: Dysentery, malaria, broken arm and collarbone, mi- me graine headaches, rheumatism, broken wrist, lower back pains (died of old age at 83). Abraham Lincoln: Chronic insomnia, chronic depression, poor appetite, imbalance, malaria, brain concussion from horse kick, scarlet fever, foot corns, toothache, smallpox, headaches (assassinated, age 54). Theodore Roosevelt: Bronchial .allergy, asthma, poor eyesight, chicken pox, measles, mumps, broken bones, hypochondria, prevents muscle fatigue. X . 2s m 1 : .J7V - yip ! :fc V i: i J years later, the strains o the Presidency are perceptibly etched on his face. 1962. Only two He Naps Any Time, Any Place In, addition to rocking, the President has another health aid that he constantly puts to use-- that and his adrenal gland malfunction. The college injury, was. a ruptured disc. In a -.. series of operations in 1954 and 1955,. surgeons failed to fuse the vertebrae around the damaged disc, but they did get rid of the gelatinous material which had leaked from the rupture to cause pain by pressing on spinal nerves and sending thei muscles they control into spasms. The official verdict on this one: it's not likely to act up again. The President's adrenal insufficiency is very mild, Dr. Travell says. As a precautionary meas-- . ure, however, he takes small supportive doses of corticosteroids. But regular endocrinological checkups indicate that Mr. Kennedy's adrenal war-induc- ed in the world? Is - I is, his ability to take a nap any time, any place. A senator visiting the White House entered the First Family's private chambers and found the underwear-cla- d President just getting up from a nap. The senator was flustered, but the President didn't bat an eyelash as he combined dressing and talking affairs of state with "v- his visitor. JFK's post-na- p presence of .jnind is not surprising. He is so full of life that he pops awake completely no yawning, no eye rubbing, no fuzziness of mind or body. This same alertness is mirrored in the way Kennedy uses his hands. For example, his right hand is never still. Its strong fingers rap out a rhythmic tattoo on whatever is nearest his knee, his cheek, the arm of a chair or a desk top. The sole exception : lie'dbesnTlap. a lectern when" hepeaksr-Iiisteadf-between-interval- of hard. S" finger-jabbin- g, he grips the speaker's stand - The President however, is not in constant danger of exploding. He has his proper share of safety valves. When a television program nettles him enough, he has been known to shout back at the tv set. And he also is adept at relieving is feeling in the robust language of an This does not extend to bawling put anybody, his associates say. When a White House aide goofs, JFK confines his show of temper to a few flat, cutting phrases. Then he turns on the charm again so that his remarks won't cut too deep. ;But a neat balance of forcefulness and is not Kennedy's sole qualification for a (Continued on page 11) ex-sail- or. self-contr- , T eye-musc- le gunshot "wound, dysentery, mastoiditis, deafness (died of coronary thrombosis, age 61); William H. Taft: Fractured skull, dengue fever, obesity, rectal abscess, amoebic dysentery, prostatitis, bladder stones arteriosclerosis (died of uremic poisoning, age 72). Woodrow Wilson: Poor eyesight, nervous indigestion, food allergies, neurotic introspection, neuritis, chronic headaches, neuralgic tic, influenza, insomnia, cerebral arteriosclerosis (died of blockage of brain bloods ves. sel, age 68). Warren G. Harding: Hardening of arteries, high blood pressure, influenza, periodic chest pains, mental depression, alcoholic overindulgence (died of coronary thrombosis, age 58). " " Calvtirtidgerite al asthma, pathological fear of strangers, temper tantrums, lack of physical, endurance,, chest pains .(probably, died of heart attack, age 61). Franklin D. Roosevelt: Respiratory weakness, chronic sinusitis, bronchitis, scarlet fever, mumps, measles, chronic appendicitis, tonsillitis," influenza, poliomyelitis, frequent head colds, transient cerebral insufficiency or "strokes," bronchopneumonia, hardening of brain arteries (died of cer-- t ebral hemorrhage, age 63). ' ol he basically well? Here are the answers Family Weekly, September J 6, 1961 9 |