Feature

Blind doctor feels strength of Kiwanis

Jacob Bolotin believed in himself enough to push ahead and become the first blind medical school graduate to become a doctor. Finding Kiwanis was just the icing on the cake

By Kasey Jackson

When Jacob Bolotin was 9 years old, his music teacher wrote into his school report: “Jake Bolotin, 1898 piano student. Without ability. Moderate progress, poor memory. Slow mentally.”

Jacob Bolotin, 1912

This article was written using text from The Blind Doctor, The Jacob Bolotin Story, written by Rosalind Perlman and published by Blue Point Books. Rosalind Perlman was married to Jacob Bolotin’s nephew, Alfred. The proceeds from The Blind Doctor go to the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust at the Santa Barbara Foundation. This trust funds an annual award, the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award, which is given to blind people or organizations that have made a significant impact within the blind community.

Jacob learned at an early age he was going to run into many obstacles in life—both figuratively and literally—and he had the physical and emotional bruises to prove it. But he didn’t want special treatment, and he sure didn’t want to be held back by anyone or anything. He just wanted to “be of use” in the world.

But Jacob had a battle to fight every single day of his life.

Jacob Bolotin was born completely blind.

“The first day I came here,” he told the assembled parents and faculty as he concluded his speech, “I walked into a wall. When I cried, the teacher said to me, ‘The wall is there and you must learn to live with it.’

When Jacob gave this speech as valedictorian of his class at the Illinois State School for the Education of the Blind, it was the first of countless achievements. Upon graduation, he was determined to make a life for himself by selling items door-to-door. And though he had achieved independence and success at selling, being a salesman didn’t satisfy him. He had bigger goals.

“Papa, I want to be a doctor.”

“A doctor!” Louis was incredulous.

“Yes, Papa, more than anything else in the world, a doctor.”

“How?” Louis asked, bitterly. …“You know it is impossible.”

“Impossible?” Jacob repeated. “No, Papa. I don’t know that.”

Jacob Bolotin reads Braille and types in this photo dated 1914.

Jacob chased his dream for years. But it was a hard road. He faced hardheaded professors, rude officials, resentful students, and many setbacks. He had to accept help to read his textbooks, fill out paperwork, and study for exams. He used incredible ingenuity to get through some of the toughest times. During an internship at Frances Willard Hospital in Illinois, Jacob proved again that his lack of eyesight had nothing to do with how good a doctor he could or couldn’t be. When a young woman had fallen ill, and at least three other doctors had determined she had a “psychological problem,” Jacob diagnosed her with heart failure.

“Your ears caught what the stethoscope didn’t. Her doctor checked the X-rays and couldn’t believe them. You’ve taught us all a good lesson, my boy. Routine stethoscope examinations are useless to those of us with eyesight unless we listen with the ears of a blind man.”—William Lowry Copeland, MD

Jacob Bolotin became the doctor only he knew he could be. And when he was asked to be a guest speaker at a medical society convention, a talent for public speaking also was unleashed.

Word quickly spread that the blind doctor from Chicago had an inspiring, almost-unbelievable story to share about his life, and his powerful plea for a different attitude toward handicapped people had a tremendous impact. In 1922, Kiwanis International joined the long list of groups trying to snag a bit of Jacob’s time. He agreed to speak to the delegates at the International convention, and with the entire house on its feet, Jacob yet again was the star of the show.

Kiwanis clubs around the country wanted to hear his speech. Jacob’s wife, Helen, could see he was run down—too tired to travel far to share his story while still attending his patients and all other commitments. She insisted he limit his talks to the United States Midwest. But Jacob had a hard time saying ‘no’ to anyone, noting that sharing his message was yet another way to “serve others as I have been served.”

Jacob became immersed in Kiwanis. He joined the West Side Kiwanis club in Chicago and started on a project that would remain near and dear to his heart until his untimely death 18 months later. He worked with the Boy Scouts of America to start one of the first blind troops in the world, and found great pleasure working with the group, who he affectionately called “my boys”—if only for a short time.

On April 1, 1924, 12 years after graduating from medical school, Jacob Bolotin died at the age of 36, his heart unable to keep up with the incredible strain he had put upon it to help others. In his short lifetime, he touched the lives of countless patients, colleagues, friends, family members, Kiwanians, children, and absolute strangers. More than 5,000 people attended his funeral in Chicago.