Dr. Jack Eidson Doctors Who Care Award
D
78
Dr. Erin Happ
r. Erin Happ wasn’t born in Texas and only just
moved here in 2013 for her husband’s fellowship.
Even though she’s only been here a short time, she loves
Parker County and plans to live here forever. Dr. Happ
is a radiologist that specializes in breast imaging with
her primary job to evaluate and diagnose diseases of the
breast, including finding and diagnosing breast cancers.
The Minneapolis native knew at a young age that she
wanted to be a doctor because of her desire to help
people.
“As a child I was always intrigued by how things
worked, and the human body is one of the most fascinat-
ing machines with all the different organ systems working
together,” she explained. “I was also a very empathetic
person and had a desire to alleviate people’s pain and
suffering whether it was physical, mental or emotional. I
suppose being a physician combined my desire to help
and heal others with my intrigue with science and the
human body.”
Dr. Happ went on to earn her Bachelors in Psychology
from the University of Illinois and attended medical
school at Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, and
then did a fellowship in breast imaging at the University
of Chicago. She is now helping women during the early
stages of their breast cancer journey.
“Most of my time is spent seeing patients that have a
concern and hopefully finding answers to their problems
and/or giving them peace of mind about what they are
experiencing. I perform biopsies as needed, but the vast
majority of patients don’t typically require them,” she
explained.
Her job allows her to be highly involved with Careity,
including sitting on their advisory board. Giving her time
to the charity is also one of her favorite ways to give back
to the community.
“I honestly love to participate in all of the Careity
fundraising events to give back to our local community
and help provide support for so many women and men
who are in need of assistance,” she explained. “I have
seen Careity and other similar organizations make a huge
difference for people who so desperately need it at a
very stressful and often overwhelming time in their life. I
enjoy giving back when I can tangibly see the difference
it makes.”
She also really enjoys volunteering and getting
involved at her children’s schools, including being on the
PTO board, volunteering in the lunchroom, and being
room mom for her kids’ classrooms. She considers her
parents her role models because of their love and support
to her and her siblings, a love she continues to pass on to
her five kids.
“They are such hardworking, God-loving people who
would do anything for their kids, but always seem to
know when to stand back and let life teach you a lesson.
My dad worked outside the home and my mother worked
Drew Springer, Dr. Erin Happ, Marsha Brown
inside the home, yet they always made my brothers and
I feel like we were their first priority,” she explained. “I
grew up with four brothers and they always made a point
to be at all of our school and sporting events. We almost
always sat down to dinner as a family, and I cannot recall
ever missing church, no matter how crazy the weekends
were. As a parent of five now, I can appreciate how diffi-
cult that is and how hard they worked as a team to make
that all happen. I pray that I can be half the spouse they
are to each other to my husband, and half the parent that
they are to me to my children.”
Dr. Happ said that she could never imagine living
or working anywhere else besides Weatherford, except
maybe Hawaii or the Greek Isles.
“I would take my husband and crazy kids with me,”
she said and laughed. She would title her autobiography,
“What a Beautiful Mess,” because of her beautiful family.
“My husband Chris and I have five kids who are
currently 9, 7, 5, 3, and 6 months,” she explained. “Chris
is a spine surgeon, so he is extremely busy. Between
both of our careers, school and kids’ activities, sports and
music lessons, it’s a hot mess sometimes! But we manage
to get it all done, and it’s a beautifully blessed life we
live.”