The sister of former US president John F Kennedy is in critical condition at a Massachusetts hospital today, a family spokesman said.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver (88) was surrounded by her family at Cape Cod Hospital, according to the spokesman.
Her husband, children and all her grandchildren were said to be at her side.
Ms Shriver is renowned in her own right for founding the Special Olympics in the 1960s. She devoted much of her life to promoting the rights and development of services for people with intellectual disabilities.