DR . WHO Sarah Todd , MD by KATHRYN VANCE
As an optimistic 7th grader with her sights set on playing in the WNBA , Dr . Sarah Todd fondly remembers years and years of basketball camps to fine-tune her skills . Both her parents , Martha and Dr . Robert Todd , grew up with the sport and eventually met while playing at Bellarmine ( wearing the same jersey numbers , too ) and later coached their four daughters in the sport . On Dr . Todd ’ s way home from one camp in particular , she shared her ambitions with her father . With a gentle nudge , he encouraged her to possibly consider another career path , maybe even medicine . She began to consider what that future might look like .
“ My dad is a retired geriatric psychiatrist here in Louisville and I thought about how we ’ d seen him as we grew up , he ’ d taken us on many shadowing opportunities . My sisters and I joked sometimes that he ’ d be returning a page , and we could almost quote what orders he ’ d give , we didn ’ t know what it meant , but we knew the terms ,” she laughed . “ I knew how happy he was and knew it was a great profession , but really wasn ’ t thinking that far ahead at the time . But that ’ s really when , in my mind , I considered medicine as a real possibility .”
From that moment , Dr . Todd had her work cut out for her . With a physician father and a mother with her master ’ s in English , higher education always played a role in their family and influenced Dr . Todd as well as her three sisters . Rebecca is an
OB-GYN and faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Morehead . Patricia is a pediatric dermatologist at Norton Children ’ s and Elizabeth is a PhD in the Division of Student Affairs at Bellarmine .
After graduating from Assumption High School , Dr . Todd went on to Bellarmine on an academic and basketball scholarship . The self-proclaimed perfectionist worked night and day in between basketball commitments to prepare for medical school . With her dad and older sister getting their degrees from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and her mom ’ s master ’ s degree also from UofL , this was her top choice .
“ I am a very introverted person so the thought of going anywhere outside of Louisville was very daunting to me . I often joke that at that point , I hadn ’ t stepped outside of a one-mile radius of my home except for school .”
Once the acceptance letter came through , she was able to breathe a sigh of relief .
“ When I first entered medical school , I wasn ’ t sure if I ’ d made the right decision . It was very overwhelming . It was almost like I ’ d put blinders on to get to this point . Then you get in and you ’ re like , ‘ Oh shoot , what did I do ?’”
Fortunately , that feeling subsided , especially once she got to the clinical years and it all clicked . In her third year , she found her passion for procedures . Whether in the operating room or
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