The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-02-07
Considered a Heroine.

Under double column cut or Mrs.
w. D. Fitzpatrick, John Fitzgibbon,
the Detroit News-Tribune' Washing
ton correspondent, has the following
dispatch
Washington, Feb. 5.@The heroic,
self-sacrifcing mother-love of Mrs. w.
d. Fitzpatrick, Of Owosso, Mich, is
the talk of official society in Washing
ton. Mrs. Fitzpatrick is the young
woman who could not bear to be sepa-
rated from her five months old girl
baby when the health department
found last Thursday that it had the
smallpox and must be sent to the
Washington pest house. She insisted
on going with it and on attending to
its every want, as she would IL it were
we'll and at home.
And because of her devotion 1t will
be the greatest good luck il she es-
capes the disease herself. Although
she has a nurse at her service Mrs.
Fitzpatrick will not let anybody do
anything for the sick baby, but her.
self washes it, dresses it, nurses it at
her breast and even sleeps with it at
night. It's face and body are covered
with the smallpox eruptions, but day
and night she is holding it in her arms
or sitting by its bedside while it takes
its little troubled maps. In fact, with
Mrs. Fitzpatrick it is case Of constant
exposure, and the danger that she. Twill
be stricken is aggravated by the cir
cumstance that she had never been
vaccinated till six days ago.
A change for the worse in the case
OF the child occurred today, but a
telephone message from the pest house
says the crisis has not yet been reach
ed. The devoted mother has not yet
developed symptom of the disease,
but the pest house physicians say she
may pass this week and still have it.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick is one of the most
strikingly handsome women in Wash
ington. Before her marriage to Mr..
Fitzpatrick, the young attorney who is
acting as Congressman Fordney's Sec
rotary, she was Miss Lucille Horsman,
OF Owosso, where she was a society
belle and favorite.
One Of the distressing features of the
case is the fact that mistaken dag
nosis was made when the baby showed
the first symptoms of the disease last
week Tuesday. A doctor who had
never seen case Of smallpox was sum-
moned and he said it was only measles.
The house where the Kilpatricks live
is occupied by Edward Byerly, former
ly Of OwoSSo, an uncle OF Mrs. Kilpat-
rick, and the inmates were thus thor.
oughly exposed. Thursday evening
another doctor looked at the child and
said it was smallpox. Then as quickly
as 1t could be done the health depart
ment was notified and mother and
Child were taken in an ambulance to
the pest house which, by the way, is a
modern building attached to the
Washington asylum and is furnished
as well as any Detroit hospital. Mr..
Fitzpatrick is quarantined at the Byer-
ly house along with all it's other in
mates and cannot communicate with
the distracted wife except through his
physician.
The baby, 1t will be remembered, is
supposed to have taken the disease
through handling letter received by
Mrs. Fitzpatrick from relative who
had recently recovered from the small.
pox.
II 1t proves to be the good fortune of
all concerned that Mrs. Fitzpatrick and
the baby shall come safely through, it
may be easily understood that the
mother will be the heroine OF not only
the Michigan delegation but of CON-
gressional society, and her devoted af-
lection will certainly be commemorate
ed in some Substantial way.