Nov. 22, 1963 | Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas

Nov. 22, 1963 - Father James Thompson and Father Oscar Huber, pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Dallas, arrived at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas at 12:58 p.m. Central Standard Time to give President John F. Kennedy the last rites of the Catholic Church. In the hospital’s Trauma Room One, a tracheotomy was performed on the President at 12:43 p.m., but his breathing remained inadequate. President Kennedy has reportedly sustained massive damage to the right side of his brain. His condition is grave. Mrs. Kennedy, her clothing spattered with her husband’s blood, is at the hospital. She has reportedly refused sedation. In Trauma Room Two, Dr. Robert R. Shaw has been working on Governor John Connally, who was also shot. The medical team at Parkland has placed a tight occlusive dressing over a large sucking wound in the Governor’s chest and a rubber tube, connected to a water seal bottle, between the Governor’s second and third ribs. The purpose of the latter is to expand Mr. Connally’s collapsed right lung. At 12:57 p.m., Mr. Connally was put under for surgery which is expected to take a minimum of three hours. The Governor’s condition is critical, but his chances for survival are reportedly good. His wife, Nellie, is also at the hospital.

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