Sumith Prasad
Damien Chazelle’s biographical drama film ‘First Man’ opens a window into the life and death of Karen Armstrong, Neil Armstrong’s daughter and second child. In the movie, the young girl’s demise unsettles the astronaut immensely, forcing him to distract himself with his absorbing work as a member of NASA’s Project Apollo. When he finally lands on the moon, he leaves his daughter’s bracelet on the celestial body, a possibly fictional plot development. Karen was only a little over two and a half years old when she tragically died due to a severe illness!
Karen Armstrong Suffered From DIPG
Karen Armstrong was born on April 13, 1959, in the Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California. She was named after Karen “Cookie” Fisher, the sister of Neil Armstrong’s childhood friend Fred Fisher. While the latter was called “Cookie,” Neil and his wife, Janet Armstrong, called their daughter “Muffie,” an endearing version of “Muffin.” According to Janet, her husband’s love for Karen turned him into a “different man.” In June 1961, the young girl tripped and fell while running down the street. She started bleeding through her nose, alarming her mother, who thought her child had a concussion. Later the same day, her eyes scared Janet.
Karen’s condition worsened as the days passed. Her eyes were nearly always crossed, and she tripped constantly. Eventually, the young girl’s eyes started to roll, and she couldn’t talk properly. She was then diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a terminal tumor that grew within her brain stem, which remains one of the most dangerous cancer types even today. The diagnosis was followed by an X-ray treatment to decrease the tumor’s size. Although she was a little girl, Karen was nothing but brave and cooperative, even when the procedures turned her life upside down.
“In the process, she [Karen] completely lost all her balance. She could not walk; she could not stand… She was the sweetest thing. She never ever complained,” Janet told James R. Hansen for ‘First Man,’ the source text of the eponymous film. She was treated at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, presently known as Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center, in Inglewood, California. During the first week of the radiation treatment, Neil and Janet remained with their daughter. Karen learned to walk again during the six weeks that followed. “She took the radiation beautifully. She never had any sickness,” her mother added.
Karen Died After Celebrating One Last Christmas With Her Parents
Even though Karen’s condition got better for a while after the radiation treatment, her initial symptoms didn’t take long to return. In addition to crossed eyes and speaking difficulties, a side of her face sagged. To save their daughter, Neil and Janet decided to rely on the cobalt treatment, which had unbearable side effects at the time. The treatment was too much for the little girl’s already-weakened body, which convinced her doctors to let her remain in her house with her loved ones. Karen was able to celebrate the 1961 Christmas with Neil and Janet.
“She [Karen] made it through Christmas. She couldn’t walk by this time—she could crawl—but she was still able to enjoy Christmas. It seems like the day Christmas was over; she just went downhill… It just overcame her,” Janet told Hansen. Karen died on January 28, 1962, after a six-month-long treatment, in Neil and Janet’s cabin in Juniper Hills. In addition to her inoperable brain tumor, the little girl suffered from pneumonia caused by her weakened physical condition before her death. Her suffering ceased on the sixth wedding anniversary of her parents. She is buried in Joshua Memorial Park’s children’s sanctuary in Lancaster.
Karen’s death was heartbreaking for Neil, who sought comfort and distraction at work. “It’s difficult for me to know. I thought the best thing for me to do in that situation was to continue with my work and keep things as normal as I could,” Neil told journalist Ed Bradley about the aftermath of his daughter’s untimely demise. “Try as hard as I could not to have it affect my ability to do useful things. At the time, I thought my family was handling it well, and I was doing the best I could,” he added.
Neil never liked to discuss Karen’s illness and death. Many of his colleagues didn’t even know that he had a daughter who died of a brain tumor. After her death on January 28, he was at work on February 5. Many historians continue to believe that his daughter inspired the astronaut to go to the moon.
Read More: First Man Ending, Explained
