Feb. 1, 1962 - A 10-year-old Greek girl (pictured left) befriended by Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy underwent heart surgery in Washington today. She is doing as well as doctors could have expected, the White House said. The story of Chrysanthemis Papacotsis was brought to Mrs. Kennedy’s attention while the First Lady was in Greece last spring. The child was born with a heart defect. Mrs. Kennedy arranged for Chrysanthemis to be brought here with her father, a farmer, in an Air Force plane and cared for at Walter Reed Army Hospital. The Kennedy family will pay the extra expenses. The White House said the operation, which took 3 hours, involved removal of fibrous tissue and muscle from the left ventricle. Doctors will have further word on the child’s condition in two or three days.
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