Ted Kennedy was left paralyzed after being hit with a devastating seizure, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.
Although he’d been fighting a valiant battle against brain cancer for more than a year, the 77-year-old senator was jolted by a frightening seizure in mid-July that paralyzed the right side of his body and left his speech slurred.
Distraught family members had been holding a vigil at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., "praying he would go in peace without too much pain," a close family source told The ENQUIRER.
"No one wanted to see him paralyzed. We couldn’t think of the ‘Lion of the Senate’ going out that way."
The ENQUIRER previously reported the senator suffered a mild seizure in mid-June and instructed wife Vicki not to take him to a hospital because he "wanted to die in his own bed," a close source divulged.
The medical setback prevented Ted from making an appearance outdoors at the Kennedys’ annual July 4 clam bake, although he was able to go outside July 10.
Only days later, however, he was rocked by another, more intense, seizure and collapsed, according to multiple sources.
"After resisting the wheelchair for so long, this time there was no other choice," a Kennedy family insider told The ENQUIRER. "He was slurring words, but was strong enough to lay down the law and tell wife Vicki he would NOT go to Cape Cod Hospital."
Exclusive ENQUIRER photos show Ted in a wheelchair as he was taken out a few days after the seizure for "some fresh air on a boat," said another close source.
"As much as he loved being out on the water, he looked stunned and afraid. His demeanor had dramatically changed almost overnight because of the sudden right-side paralysis."
Added the close family source: "Vicki and Ted’s children were unprepared to see him paralyzed – and the reality of ‘the end being near’ quickly settled in – leaving them numb and shell-shocked."
For the full story with exclusive never before seen pix of Teddy’s brave battle as he struggles to deal with the present while reeling from multiple past traumas – the anniversary of the death of beloved nephew JFK, Jr. and ghosts of Chappaquiddick past – and what the future may hold for the Camelot icon – pick up the new ENQUIRER now on sale.
