In 1845, Elizabeth visited her childhood home in the suburbs of Walnut Hills in Cincinnati, and saw the successes of her family. Her father, Samuel Blackwell, made his living in a sugar refinery, her brothers were involved in business, and her sisters did a number of things involving teaching and writing. Overwhelmed with the unspoken pressure from her family to be successful, Elizabeth felt the desire to pursue a career in music and metaphysics.
Elizabeth Blackwell's Family
(Image: radcliffe.harvard.edu)
Around this same time, a close friend of hers, Mary Donaldson, was dying from a painful disease. For her entire life, Elizabeth had been terrified of illness and appalled by anything medical. When Mary suggested that Elizabeth become a doctor, she immediately turned the idea down. The thought of being near sickness was enough to make Elizabeth feel uneasy.
Elizabeth Blackwell
(Image: cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov)
"You are fond of study, have health and leisure; why not study medicine? If I could have been treated by a lady doctor, my worst sufferings would have been spared me."
~ Mary Donaldson, dying friend of Elizabeth Blackwell
Later, when Donaldson had passed, the thoughts of becoming a doctor kept coming back to Blackwell. Elizabeth tried to dismiss this thought, worrying that her fear of illness would hold her back. Contrary to Elizabeth’s attempts in suppressing the thoughts of becoming a doctor, these thoughts occurred time and time again. Eventually, Elizabeth was overtaken by them, and decided that she would be a physician. What was not apparent to her though, was the battle she was about to endure to earn her medical degree.