(continued from page 29)
After undergraduate courses, in
1970 Dr. O’Connor
entered the UVA
Medical School. “It
was a transition. My
roommate and I were
together at VMI and
UVA. The first few
weeks we just sat
there and stared at
the girls in class. AfDr. O'Conner and his wife,
Louise
ter four years of not
seeing them, it was
strange,” he laughed. “One of the things we had to learn was that
nobody was going to tell us what to wear, when to eat or when to
study.”
Although he initially wanted to be a pediatrician, initial rounds
quickly changed his mind. “I got the pediatric crud, basically every
childhood illness that I could get, to the point I ruptured my ear
drum,” he said. “I also found it difficult to treat patients who couldn’t
give me a good history.”
But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Students at UVA rotated through Pediatrics at the same time as Obstetrics. It was here
that Dr. O’Connor found his calling. “I was kind of stunned. Life
brought to the world. … It’s a big deal. Plus the family gives you all
the credit, but you didn’t actually do anything. But I liked delivering
babies and learning one organ area was easy, so I chose OB,” said
Dr. O’Connor, who at age 24 delivered his first baby.
During medical school, Dr. O’Connor met his wife, Louise, who
was working as a nurse. After dating for a year and a half, the couple
was married in his third year of medical school.
Because of Dr. O’Connor’s participation in the Health Professions Scholarship Program, he had to apply for military residency
following medical school. That was how he came to be stationed at
the Tripler Army Medical Center on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
“We headed out in the summer of 1974. I liked it fine, but my
wife did not. People ask, ‘Why would you not like Hawaii? It’s Paradise.’ But most people who say that go for two weeks and go home.
Living there, many people get something known as rock or island
Four generations: Andrew O'Connor, David
with his daughter Emily and Dr. O'Connor
30
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
fever. You’re stuck on a rock in the middle of the ocean and can’t
go anywhere unless you fly or sail,” Dr. O’Connor said.
Dr. O'Conner (far left) in 1984 at Water Reed Army Medical Center
Dr. O'Connor and
The Tripler Medical Center was the busiest of the military obstetrics programs as it was the only military hospital in the western
Pacific. The Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force all came through
those doors and as such, the obstetrics unit delivered approximately
475 babies each month. The O’Connor’s had a couple children of
their own while in Hawaii, their two sons, David and Richard.
The family didn’t travel much, mostly staying on the beach and
occasionally sailing with other residents. Rather than making distant trips to the South Pacific, the family invested in furniture,
silverware and china which were all available fairly cheaply at the
Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
While in Hawaii, Dr. O’Connor found a second passion when he
learned about pathology during his time in the OB/GYN department. “It was fascinating to see these diseases under a microscope. I
understood it and
really liked it.”
Louise with their daughters,
Sara, left, and Elizabeth
After his residency, it was
time to move
once again as Dr.
O’Connor and
his family moved
back to Northern
Virginia where he
began working at
Fort Belvoir Community Hospital as
an OB/GYN. After
two years, he was offered a faculty position at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center where he worked as Director of Internship and
Student Training. Dr. O’Connor and his wife also welcomed twin
girls, Sara and Elizabeth.
“Walter Reed had a very strong gynecologic oncology program,
but people often left once they were fully tr Z[