But the malady was actually acute appendicitis and the boy died suddenly that night.
A Chinese-language textbook for Grade 2 students includes a story that Edison's mother needed surgery for appendicitis, but light in the operating room was too dim, so the inventor - only 7 years old at the time - came up with the idea of placing mirrors near an oil lamp to better illuminate the room.
All I knew was that you went to a surgeon to fix you when you had appendicitis.
But the malady was actually acute appendicitis, and the boy died suddenly that night.