Mary Elizabeth McCracken

In 1942, Mary Elizabeth left China with her parents on the Italian ship Contri Verde. On the ship, she became bedridden with meningitis and was checked in to a hospital when she arrived in the United States. Mary Elizabeth McCracken died on October 18, 1945. On her gravestone in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York, the phrase "Beloved Physician" is engraved. Mary Elizabeth was indeed a “Beloved Physician,” endeared by all she spoke to, even those she met on her voyages, and especially loved by the children she served in Shanghai.

Specializing in pediatrics, she returned to the United States to work in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to gain more experience. She finished her work at the Children's Hospital on July 1, 1941. After her time at the Children's Hospital, she hoped to return to China to serve the children in Shanghai. Returning to China was harder now because the Chinese had just banned “all women and useless men.” Despite this, Mary Elizabeth was determined to return.

On December 8, 1941, the Chinese Nationalist Government overtook the hospital and told the McCrackens to leave, in addition to this, Mary Elizabeth's condition and her father's health were slowly worsening. As a result, in 1942, Mary Elizabeth left China with her parents on the Italian ship Contri Verde. On the ship, she became bedridden with meningitis and was checked into a hospital when she arrived in the United States. Mary Elizabeth McCracken died on October 18, 1945.

As she told her father Josiah Calvin McCracken she was interested in attending medical school, her father invited her to study under him in China. She ended up attending Women's Christian Medical College in Shanghai. She did so well in anatomy that the second year she was at the school she taught the subject herself. She later transferred to St. John's University, continuing to teach anatomy. She completed a year of internship at the Refugee Hospital and then received her graduation diploma at the head of her class in 1939.

In 1934, Mary Elizabeth attended medical school and was able to use her own rickshaw and coolie. This allowed for greater independence for her as she went to school and made new friends. Being the “indomitable Mary,” she was an independent person, never letting others perform any task for her if she could do it herself. Her entire family treated her like a normal child and despite her handicap, she was always welcomed in different settings due to her warm and friendly personality. Such traits were key to her success, allowing the title of the first female to overcome infantile paralysis to become a medical missionary.

In the Fall of 1927, Mary Elizabeth followed in her older sister Helen McCracken Fulcher's footsteps and attended Lake Erie College. She roomed with Helen the first year and her other sister Margaret for the following two years. Her sisters helped wheelchair and carry her during these times. The college faculty was very interested in Mary Elizabeth and her attitude towards learning. Mary Elizabeth developed a liking for history, learned how to swim, and joined archery during college.

In February 1919, Mary Elizabeth began to go to the Red Cross Hospital in Shanghai to receive electrical treatments three times per week. She had to be brought home early to rest before every treatment, thus, she had to leave school early for each treatment. Though Mary Elizabeth broke her leg in December 1919, she still persisted in attending school in her cast. In February 1921, the family made the hard decision to send Mary Elizabeth to the Watson Home for crippled children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to receive care under Dr. David Silvers. This is where she ended up for her entire high school career. Though the family returned to Shanghai on June 23, 1921, Mary wasn't able to improve in Shanghai and made the decision to return in the Summer of 1923 to the Watson Home.

After the family moved to the United States in 1920, it was a challenge to find a school for Mary Elizabeth to attend. Only when a druggist from the neighborhood allowed an employee to carry Mary Elizabeth was she able to finally attend a school. Eventually, in 1924, she went to the Watson Home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for both treatment and schooling. She stayed there until she completed high school.

In the Fall of 1916, Mary Elizabeth began school at the Shanghai American School, a private school that was two to three blocks away from the family's residence at 8 Darroch Road in Shanghai. She was pulled everyday to school in a long wagon by her mother. As Mary Elizabeth had to be carried to class and recess, her mother often had to be present to perform such a duty.

Initially after Mary Elizabeth was struck with this disease, her mother did her best to treat her but this was not enough. Reaching out to his friend, Mary Elizabeth's father sought out consultation from Dr. Abraham Flexner in 1915. In 1916, Mary Elizabeth and her father traveled to Boston so she could receive care to straighten her back.

Mary Elizabeth McCracken (February 2, 1911 – October 19, 1945) was the first woman to overcome infantile paralysis to become a medical missionary. She was the third of eight children and the daughter of the medical missionaries Josiah Calvin McCracken and Helen Newpher McCracken, also known as the "McCrackens of Shanghai". Mary Elizabeth followed her father's footsteps and worked alongside him to perform surgery on citizens affected by the Sino-Japanese conflict in Shanghai. She also headed the pediatrics department of her father's Refugee Hospital for many years.

Mary Elizabeth McCracken was born on February 2, 1911, in Canton, China where her parents were stationed as medical missionaries. Mary Elizabeth was the third of eight children. She had five sisters (Helen McCracken Fulcher, Margaret McCracken, Martha Constance McCracken Howard, Elsie McCracken, and Ruth McCracken) and two brothers (Josiah C. McCracken and Stewart McCracken). At the young age of thirteen months, Mary Elizabeth was afflicted with infantile paralysis. She could not walk and constantly needed to be carried everywhere. Since Mary Elizabeth's mother graduated with a degree in physical education from Columbia University, Mary Elizabeth's mother persistently cared for her and sought to make her life as normal as possible.