Barbara Huggins

behind the stethescope

Barbara Huggins is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Center, Tyler, Texas. A lifelong resident of Texas, she was graduated from Baylor University, Waco, TX, and the University of Texas Medical School, Houston. She formerly was in private practice in Bay City, Texas.

Her story is one of those stories you sometimes see in Reader's Digest—inspiring and encouraging. Having faced the kind of challenges that can wilt a person, she presses on, making a difference for good.

At the age of three, she took the final steps she would ever take with two good legs. Diagnosed with the scourge of her generation--polio--she was soon to wear those heavy metal, full-leg braces that were such a familiar sight of the times. Out of those early days, though, through a cute expression of childlike determination, came the determinate phrase that would define her intention to pursue her goals regardless: "I can do it me own self!" This, coupled with a strong spiritual faith, would be needed and then some when life threw more challenges her way. And it would.

The second child of a family of 6 children, and one of five daughters, she quickly assumed the kinds of duties that must be spread around in a large family. Along the way, her relationship with her mother, whom she affectionately calls "the Donna Reed type," grew closer and warmer day by day. Among her most cherished memories are of the evenings of conversations over the kitchen table, getting the words of advice that are unique between mothers and daughters. The possibility that such a rich life would be interuppted by breast cancer could not have been farther from her mind, yet it happened. When she was only 25 years old, Barbara lost her mother, still vibrant at 47, to the disease.

Half a year passed and Barbara's grief had just begun to subside when, as she reached the door of a lake house for a weekend of relaxation, there was a note to call home. The news was devastating: At the age of only 20, the life of Lucy, one of Barbara's sisters, had been dramatically cut short that evening at the hands of a drunk driver. Once yet again, life laid down a challenge that only dogged resiilience and steadfast faith could meet.

There's much more to Barbara's story than can be related here, including the death of her only child, the end of her first marriage, the challenges of entering medical school as an older student and of getting through life with a walking impairment. But, as her husband is quick to say, "If you think she's handicapped, you've got another think coming!" Her smile remains radiant and her spirit aglow as she determines to look forward in faith rather than backward in despair.

Indeed, this remarkable woman and her story relates to women (and men) in a special, endearing way. Her story and her motivational challenges to women have been enthusiastically received wherever she has shared them.

LINKS:
"Dr. Mom" television spots
Recognized: "Women Who Triumphed" Women in Tyler Day, 2007
Winner, "Anson Jones, M.D." Award, Physician Excellence in Reporting, 2007, Texas Medical Association

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Info: RIchard Huggins, huggins88@yahoo.com