Sentence:  "What did they die of?" I asked./ "Fevers. The doctor came and <WSD>bled</WSD> them and purged them, but they still died."/ "He <WSD>bled</WSD> and purged babies?"/ "They were two and three. He said it would break the fever. And it did. But they ... they died anyway." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To let or draw blood from.