Eunice Kennedy Shriver Is Hospitalized

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of President Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics, was in critical condition Friday with a postoperative infection.

Shriver, 79, had a benign pancreatic tumor removed Oct. 12, and doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital had predicted a full recovery. She was released Oct. 21.

But Shriver was readmitted Monday after complaining of pain. Doctors discovered an infection and operated Tuesday night to stem that infection, according to a statement by her son, Maryland state lawmaker Mark Shriver.

“Her husband, her children are with her and ask for everybody’s prayers,” his statement said.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Shriver’s niece, canceled a funeral appearance to be at the hospital Friday, her spokesman said. She had been scheduled to attend the funeral of a Churchville, Md., sailor who was killed in the attack on the guided missile destroyer Cole in Yemen.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) canceled a weekend trip to Massachusetts to remain near his sister.

Hospital spokeswoman Beth Simpkins said family members were visiting Shriver, but she would not identify them and said they did not want to speak to the media.

Hospital officials referred further questions to Mark Shriver’s office.

At the time of the Oct. 12 surgery, Shriver’s doctor, John Cameron, said the five-hour operation was “very successful” and he expected her to make a full recovery.

Shriver, whose sister Rosemary was mentally retarded, organized the first Special Olympics in 1968 in Chicago. The two-day event drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Canada.

Now more than 1 million athletes in about 160 countries participate in Special Olympics meets each year.

Her husband, Sargent Shriver, was the founding director of the Peace Corps and the Democratic vice presidential candidate on the 1972 ticket with George S. McGovern.

Shriver is the mother of five children: Mark; NBC-TV reporter Maria Shriver, who is married to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Robert, Timothy and Anthony.