Well wishes are pouring in from around the world for Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver who is in critical condition at a Massachusetts hospital.

Shriver, a sister to President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is widely credited with changing perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities.

Now 88, Shriver is in critical condition at Cape Cod Hospital where she is surrounded by family. It is unclear why she is in the hospital, but Shriver has reportedly experienced a series of strokes in recent years.

Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968, inspired by her sister Rosemary who had an intellectual disability. Since then, Special Olympics has grown to include over 3 million athletes in 175 countries and helped generations of people recognize what those with disabilities are capable of, despite their challenges.

“Special Olympics has taught me how to be more accepting of difference, but more so I have learned we are all much more alike than we ever could be different,” wrote one person on a tribute page on Shriver’s Web site. “Thank you Mrs. Shriver for this valuable life lesson.”

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