Week 25: Fast

It wasn't very long ago that I learned what little there is to know about a cousin of mine, Donald Paul Scott.  Donald was my 1st cousin 1x removed and until I stumbled on his name in an Ancestry.com hint I never knew that he had even existed.  His 109 days on earth passed quickly so I'd like to give him recognition by recording what I have found.

Donald was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 20 Sep 1934 to Angnes Sheridan Scott and William Franklin Scott, my grandaunt and granduncle.  Aunt Agnes was a native of Scotland and Uncle Frank was the brother of my paternal granddad Angus Cleon Scott.  We didn't get to see them often since their family lived in the Philadelphia area so that may be why I never heard the story of Donald Paul's short life.

When Donald was born he had one older sister, Mary, who was seventeen months old.  His younger sister Suzanne was born when he would have been nearly 7 and his baby sister Kathleen when he was 12.  Because of Mary's very young age when Donald was born she had no personal memory of him when I spoke with her in 2020 and Aunt Agnes passed away in 2000, long before I could have asked her about him.

Donald's cause of death was shown as Cerebro Spinal Meningitis, a bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.  The physician who signed the death certificate stated that he attended the patient from 21 Dec 1934 until 7 Jan 1935 when death occurred.  Donald was ill for just 17 days.  The number 18 is written twice so that may have been how the days were counted.  There's a stamp across the cause of death section that says CONTAGIOUS. An autopsy was performed and a test of Donald's spinal fluid confirmed the cause of death as spinal meningitis.  

How did Donald contract meningitis?  According to an article on the website of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio:

Meningitis is caused by germs – either bacteria or viruses. A child catches the germs by breathing in the mist or touching the drainage (mucus or saliva) from an infected person. Once the germs enter the child’s nose or throat, they can spread quickly through the bloodstream to the meninges.

The website also explains that bacterial meningitis is serious and life-threatening but that viral meningitis is less serious and will usually go away on its own.  Donald's doctors in 1934 didn't have the vaccines that are available today that could have prevented his death.  Meningitis is more common in infants and young children than in adults, so I wonder if his sister Mary was also exposed but didn't develop the disease.  How and where was Donald exposed to the bacteria?  I'll never know the answers.

What I do know is that Donald would have been a cherished member of the Scott family.