By: NECN: Alison King
(NECN: Alison King) - On May 17th, 2008, at 8:19 in the morning, a call was made to the Hyannis, Massachuetts Fire Department requesting emergency medical assistance.
The address was the Kennedy Compound and the victim in need was the family patriarch -- 76-year-old Senator Edward Kennedy.
In minutes, an ambulance arrived at the famed seaside residence to transport Kennedy to Cape Cod Hospital.
By 10 a.m., Kennedy was being flown to Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.
Thus began a story that would make headlines around the world -- a new and final chapter for the last living member of the Kennedy dynasty.
It was soon determined that Kennedy had had a seizure. But why?
The answer would come three days later and the news was grim. Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer -- the worst kind: a malignant glioma.
The tumor was in the left parietial lobe, a section of the brain that covers sensation and plays a role in movement and language. Experts said people do not generally survive that type of cancer more than a year or two.
"The older the patient is, usually the prognosis is also not as good as in younger patients," Dr. Avi Almaz Lino, chief of neurology at Newton Wellesley said.
Shortly after the announcement, photos showed Kennedy in his hospital room, in good spirits, surrounded by his family.
Four days after the seizure, he was leaving Mass General in front of a crowd of well-wishers with a small bandage on the back of his head where the biopsy was performed that lead to his diagnosis.
On June 2nd, less than two weeks after his diagnosis, Kennedy was far from his Hyannisport home.
He traveled to Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, known for its aggressive treatment of brain cancer. His doctor, Allan Friedman, is considered one of the nation's top neurosurgeon's.
Kennedy was awake through the three-and-a-half hour surgery. Freidman would not say how much of Kennedy's tumor was removed, but declared the surgery successful.
Kennedy's wife Vicky quoted him just after the surgery as saying: "I feel like a million bucks. I think I'll do that again tomorrow."
A week later, his recovery deemed "excellent," Kennedy returned to his home in Hyannisport.
The surgery was not a cure, but was expected to improve the effectiveness of the chemotherapy and radiation he would soon begin at Mass General.
Kennedy's office then issued a statement saying, in part, that in the interest of family privacy, there would not be regular updates about the senator's schedule or treatment plans.
In the weeks and months that followed, Kennedy surprised and delighted his friends and family with a number of unexpected appearances.
There was the July visit to Capitol Hill, when he stunned his colleages by walking on the floor of the U.S. Senate to cast the deciding vote on long-stalled medicare legislation.
There was the explosive appearance at the Democratic National Convention where Kennedy walked on stage to address the party faithful:
And there was an un-welcome surprise in September, as Kennedy was brought back to Cape Cod Hospital following a mild seizure.
On November 17th, Kennedy did what many thought would never happen: he returned to his Capitol Hill office to work on health care.
"Barack has indicated that this would be a prime issue and I believe it will be," Kennedy said.
Kennedy's next major public appearance was at Barack Obama's Inauguration.
He was seen arriving on the Capitol stage during that frigidly cold January morning and sitting in close proximity to the Obama family.
But at the luncheon for members of Congress that followed, Kennedy suffered another seizure. He recovered quickly, but it was a stark reminder of the cancer that plagued him.
"I'd be lying to you if I did not say that, right now a part of me is with him," President Obama said at the luncheon.
But Kennedy bounced back again. After spending the winter in Florida, Kennedy was back in D.C. in March to attend President Obama's health care summit.
"I am looking forward to being a footsoldier in this undertaking and this time we will not fail," Kennedy said.
Days later, brain cancer seemed far from mind for Kennedy as he celebrated his 77th birthday with an all-star private party and show at the Kennedy Center.
One year after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Ted Kennedy is weaker and thinner than he was, but his trademark determination is intact. He is still fighting hard for healthcare and next weekend he is registered to sail in the annual Memorial Day Weekend Cape to Nantucket Figawi Race.
