A Boy Carrying His Little Brother Dies After a Fall on Fence Rails
Fifteen-year-old Stanley Tarbox of Usk stumbled while giving his six-year-old brother a piggyback ride. Days later, an intestinal obstruction killed him on the operating table in Spokane.
A few days after he fell into a pile of fence rails while carrying his little brother "pick-a-back," Stanley Tarbox, 15 years old, died in his mother's arms at the Sacred Heart hospital Wednesday night. He was dying when brought to the city from his home at Usk, and an operation was to have been performed as a last hope of saving his life. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. F. Tarbox, of Usk.
A few days ago young Tarbox was running and carrying his 6-year-old brother on his back, when he stumbled and fell among some fence rails. The next day he complained of being sick and Dr. Avery, of Usk, was called in, but did not consider him in a serious condition. On Saturday his condition was considerably worse, but still not considered serious until Wednesday, when he was brought to Spokane.
He was taken to the operating room, where he died just as the operation was about to begin. Intestinal obstruction was given as the cause of death. — Spokesman-Review.
“He was taken to the operating room, where he died just as the operation was about to begin.”
In 1910, a boy's stomach ache in Usk meant a wagon ride to Spokane and a last-minute operation that came too late. Today a rural family in Pend Oreille County would face a shorter drive but the same hard truth: distance from specialty care still shapes who survives a medical emergency.
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