Short Story: Raised In Culpeper, Virginia

A sea of vehicles rushed back and forth in front of the hospital entrance. Once inside, the linoleum floor offered a natural path to the elevators. The box loudly groaned and purred up to the third floor. The doors giving a clear reflection of the people inside. As the doors parted, a sign stood to the side. The sign provided a list of directions below the number three; this was the Obstetrics floor. The small waiting area was warm and inviting and to the side, nurses sat behind a glass window. The waiting area held family members quietly murmuring to each other. A few seconds later, Mrs. Patricia Foan entered from the right. She calls my name and we walk towards her office. Inside, the office was small and comfortable. A large desk took up …show more content…
Raised in Culpeper, Virginia, Patricia believes it was a great place growing up. In the 1980’s, the population was in the eight thousand. Nowadays, the town boasts a population of seventeen thousand, five hundred fifty-seven according to the July 2015 Census. The small town has had a long history since the seventeen-hundredths. Surrounded, not only by historic landmarks, Culpeper offers quaint shops and thriving businesses. This is where Patricia Foan took her first steps towards her future. She attended the only high school, at the time, Culpeper County High. It is here, that Pat met her husband. After forty-two years of marriage, Pat describes her husband as, “A sounding board,” since he supported her nursing career. It was because he wanted to go to school at Virginia Commonwealth University, that they decided to move to …show more content…
She attended John Tyler Community College and graduated with an Associate’s degree in Nursing. During her college career, she mothered three children; a three-year-old, a two-year-old, and a newborn. She beat the odds! Patricia was able to balance her personal, work, and school life. Afterward, Pat was hired by Chippenham Medical Center. Still, she did not work in her desired field. It was difficult to enter the labor and delivery floor since vacancies were rare. Meanwhile, at Chippenham, Patricia worked the medical-surgical and psych floors for the first two years. It was through a neighbor-friend, who worked in the labor and delivery unit, that told her about a possible job opening. Pat was on maternity leave at the time. Soon after, Patricia placed a call and asked for a transfer. She got the job and has not changed wards for almost forty-two years. Nevertheless, her stay at Chippenham was brief, she transferred to Johnston Willis Hospital’s labor and delivery floor in