Siobhan and Mark met in medical school in Massachusetts in 1980. He claims he set his sights on her the very first day of class; she claims he played “hard to get”; in either case the chemistry worked and their relationship has endured and grown for the past 34 years. Few medical school relationships survive residency, but theirs did, despite a 2.5 hour weekly commute down the Mass Pike between Mass General (Siobhan, in Pediatrics), and the Berkshires (Mark, in Internal Medicine). They found a common interest in international and rural medicine and they fell in love during a Community Health elective in Jamaica.
After tying the knot in 1987, they made the “great escape” from New England to Butte, Montana where they began their medical practices and their family, raising three children, Tim, Matt, and Brenna. Life is never easy, however, and both survived serious health scares — Mark with kidney cancer, and Siobhan with HELLP syndrome complicating a twin pregnancy. Both feel very fortunate to be alive and have a deep-seated desire to give back and are committed to the idea of helping whenever possible. They realized that their desire to help, coupled with their wanderlust, medical knowledge and semi-self-sufficient kids offered an opportunity to travel while helping those in need. They’re still not sure who benefits more from their medical volunteer work, recognizing that the key to their happiness lies in that give-take of sharing the simplest of experiences. They have most recently been working with the Lao Rehabilitation Foundation in northern Laos while taking time away from their “day jobs” — Siobhan as pediatrician and most recently Chief Medical Officer of Community Health Program (CHP) in the Berkshires, Mark as Medical Director of Canyon Ranch (Tucson, Lenox, Miami Beach).
