Sentence:  "What did they die of?" I asked./ "Fevers. The doctor came and bled them and <WSD>purged</WSD> them, but they still died."/ "He bled and <WSD>purged</WSD> 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 cause someone to purge, operate on (somebody) as or with a cathartic or emetic, or in a similar manner.