Betsy became seriously ill due to her work in the factory. She had been feeling overworked because of the long hours and the increasing speed of the machines, and she developed a cough. Even though she transferred to a room at the factory where the "air was cleaner," she continued to get worse. She had to stay home from work and eventually was moved into the infirmary in the boarding house. However, when she coughed up blood, Mrs. Bedlow insisted that Betsy must go to the hospital.
When Lyddie visited her there, Betsy said, "You've got to get me out of here. ... They'll bleed me of every penny I've saved." This means that Betsy had to use her savings to pay for her stay in the hospital. She was not able to travel to her uncle's home in Maine because the doctor said she was not well enough to bear the journey. Eventually Betsy's uncle came for her, but by then all of her savings had been depleted to pay her doctor and hospital bills. Although Betsy said she would return so she could save the money she needed to go to Oberlin College, Lyddie knew she would never recover sufficiently to handle the harsh working conditions in the factories.
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