A Sudden Death in a Doctor's Office
A young mother seeking medical relief ends in tragedy at a physician's office, sparking a coroner's inquiry.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Mrs. George L. Rhodes, of Randolph street, died suddenly of what is thought to be epilepsy at 3:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon in Dr. K. W. Fall's office in the Boxwall block on Columbia street. Mrs. Rhodes applied to the doctor for medical assistance, asserting that she was troubled with cold chills and nausea. The doctor gave it as his opinion that she was suffering from a bilious attack, and prescribed quinine. Yesterday, when she entered the private room, the doctor heard her utter a groan. Looking up, he saw her stagger and then sink to the floor in a heap. Dr. Fall immediately ran to the office of Dr. Annie Russell, next door, for assistance. Mrs. Rhodes lay on the floor, purple in the face and frothing at the mouth. Despite efforts to revive her, she died shortly after. Coroner Horton was notified and performed an inquiry, learning facts that absolved Dr. Fall from blame. Mrs. Rhodes was 32 years old and leaves two small children.
“Looking up quickly he saw her stagger and then sink to the floor in a heap.”
Medical reporting in the 1890s often focused on the 'startling' nature of sudden death in public or semi-public spaces. The account provides a somber glimpse into the fragility of life and the limitations of 19th-century diagnostic medicine.
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