Полина Робинсон Буш: Трагическая история дочери президента Буша

Second child of President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush

Pauline Robinson Bush (December 20, 1949 – October 11, 1953), commonly known as Robin Bush, was the second child and first daughter of the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush, and his wife, First Lady Barbara Bush. After she was born in California, her family soon relocated to Texas, where Robin lived most of her life. At the age of three, Robin was diagnosed with advanced leukemia. As she was given very little time to live, her parents flew her to New York City for treatment, where she spent the next six months. Despite doctors' efforts, she died at the age of 3 years, 9 months. Her death prompted them to establish a foundation for leukemia research.

Then an oil field equipment salesman for Dresser Industries, George H. W. Bush lived in various places around the United States with his wife, Barbara (née Pierce), and their young son, George W. In 1949, they moved to Compton, California; by then, Barbara was pregnant with the couple's second child. On September 23, 1949, Pauline Robinson Pierce, Barbara's mother, was killed in a car accident, which also injured her father, Marvin. Since she was very late into the pregnancy, Marvin advised Barbara not to make the journey to New York, so as not to hurt the baby. On December 20, 1949, Barbara delivered a baby girl, whom she named Pauline Robinson Bush, after her late mother. Initially, the child's intended name was Pauline Pierce Bush, until George H. W.'s mother pointed out that her initials would be P. P. Bush, which "would never do". From birth, the little girl was referred to as Robin, so much so that, later in life, Barbara would comment that Robin's siblings probably do not even remember her real name. Robin was described as being calm and having a "sweet soul". She was "quiet and gentle, and she had lovely little blond curls." Her father would later say of Robin: "She'd fight and cry and play and make her way just like the rest, but there was about her a certain softness Her peace made me feel strong, and so very important." In 1950, shortly after Robin's birth, the family relocated again, this time to Midland, Texas; the family quickly became involved in their new town. In February 1953, after having moved to their third house in Midland, the Bushes had another child, John Ellis, nicknamed "Jeb".

In the spring of 1953, shortly after Jeb's birth, Robin awoke one morning, listless. She said she was unsure of what to do that particular morning, stating that she "may go out and lie on the grass and watch the cars go by", or just stay in bed. Barbara believed Robin had come down with what her mother had referred to as "spring fever," as, up until that point, she had been "as rowdy and healthy" as her brothers. He and his brother Jeb then became their mother's focal points, and she devoted her time to caring for them, as a means of overcoming her daughter's death. After overhearing George W. tell one of his friends that he could not go out and play, as he needed to play with his mother, Barbara decided that it was time to heal, for her family. Barbara later became honorary chairwoman of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and honorary national chairperson of Donor Awareness Week. Following Barbara's death in April 2018, a cartoon by Marshall Ramsey, of The Clarion Ledger, was widely circulated, showing Robin greeting Barbara upon the latter's entry to heaven. The cartoon was shared by various people and relatives of the family, including George W.'s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager. Following her father's death in November of that same year, Robin would be featured again in another Ramsey cartoon, where she and Barbara greeted George H. W. after the latter landing a TBM Avenger (the type of airplane he flew in the Navy during World War II) in heaven.