Yes, I realize my story title is a bit dramatic, but honestly isn’t death dramatic, especially when it involves a young person?
Dustin C. Sweatt was was a handsome young man, named after his uncle Dustin. He was one of nine children born to his father (who had two wives).
Dustin was only 17 years old when he died of “congestion of the lungs.” We can’t be sure of the exact cause of his lung problems, but in that era diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia were among the top ten causes of death in the general population.
Fifty years later in 1900, it was much the same with lung diseases being the top two killers. In 2000 TB, though still around, has dropped out of the top 10 but pneumonia combined with influenza sits at the number seven killer.
