The Impersonality
of Sadness on Paper:
The Death
Certificates of Baby Antonio and Baby Dolores
By Emilito
Rev. 2005-01-26
To be constructed
Emilito
One can only
imagine how the deaths of two babies - less than 3 weeks apart - must
have affected the family. Emilito is glad that he found the death
certificates, because by reading them, over and over again, he has
forced himself to project himself into the past and into another world,
a world of family tragedy.
On 30 December, baby
Antonio
died, a
day short of 2 months old. Less than 3 weeks later, Lolita,
nearly a year and a half old, died as well.
Their sister Carmen,
Emilito's mother, noted that Antonio died of an infection in his navel
which was probably caused by a coin the midwife put over it to flatten
it. Lolita died of whooping cough.
Not leaving well enough alone, Emilito went to NY in early 2005 and was
able to track down their death
certificates
and get a copy at the NY
Municipal Archives at 31 Chambers Street. On the death
certificate
for Dolores, "cause of death" was listed as "Cardiac Incompetency and
Broncho-pneumonia." Another field, "Contributory," said
"Gastro-enteritis."
And Antonio? His death certificate said the cause of death was
"Gastro-enteritis." Contributory? "Malnutrition of mother."
Emilito has no idea if these differing sets of words can be
reconciled. He does admit to initially being astonished at the
"malnutrition
of mother" phrase. Then he remembered the story of Uncle Manny's
failing health on board ship from Spain to Cuba, and how a wet-nurse
found on board was needed to nurse him back to health.
Comments of MD's he knows follow
Com
[More
text]
The following is the
Death Certificate of Antonio Lagos, who died at 2 months of age
on December 30, 1914. [Discussion of reason, oral history,
etc.]
The following is
the death certificate of Dolores Lagos, who died at the agoe of a year
and a half, on January 18, 1915, of whooping cough.
