Walker, Stanley (1923-1935)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1935 Jan 16 p. 1

Birth date: 1923

text of obituary:

Boy With One Chance in Million Succumbs to Disease.

New York, January 11. — Stanley Walker, 12 — The boy who had one chance in a million — died today of the streptococcus infection he had fought for more than a month.

His millionth chance depended, physicians said on obtaining the blood of one of the 11 persons in the city who had recovered from the malady. A public appeal was made for a donor. Police radio cars searched the city for one of the 11. Newspapers co-operated in the search.

Finally, on December 13, Leon Zaskevich, a 30-year-old fur salesman, riding home on a bus, read of the case in a newspaper. He himself had recovered from the disease. he left the bus and notified the hospital of his willingness to aid the boy.

His blood was found satifactory. that night a transfusion was made and two days later a second was administered.

It looked as if Stanley might get that one-in-a-million chance. He continued to hold his own fro the enxt few weeks, but yesterday he began to fail. He died in an oxygen tent.