Natalie Martin bio
Natalie Martin was born at home to Claude and Betsy Martin on September 30, 1960. She was exposed to scarlet fever at two weeks old and was one of a handful of newborns who survived the illness. It left her heart with scar tissue, and she was a sickly child.
Natalie saw many doctors for her first five years of life and adored her doctor's nurse. She began to play "nurse" when she was four years old and "treated" everyone who would let her. Nat got extra popsicle sticks from the ice cream man and used them to check people's throats. Her nickname became Nurse Nat.
Natalie was well-behaved and never got into any trouble. She started volunteering at the local hospital when she was 13 and became a candy striper shortly thereafter. All the hospital staff members loved her and said they wished they had ten more just like her. No one was surprised when she announced her plans to go to nursing school.
She received an academic scholarship for two-thirds of her tuition, and the hospital gave her a scholarship for the rest as long as she maintained a 3.7 GPA. Natalie worked very hard and graduated near the top of her class. The hospital in Oxford hired her right out of school.
She had worked at Baptist Memorial for 20 years when a new doctor came to the hospital. This new doctor kept asking out the still-single Natalie, and finally, she accepted. She fell hard for Dr. Mark Thomas, and they dated for several years.
Natalie often wondered why Mark was out of town so much, but she was devastated when she found out it was because he had a family in another state. She knew he had secrets, but she never suspected they included a wife and children. She immediately broke off the relationship and quit her job at the hospital so she wouldn't have to see him every day.
She soon found employment as the head nurse at the Yoknapatawpha Acres nursing home. Her heart was broken, but her desire to help patients was still as strong as ever, so she buried herself in her work. She was disappointed to find that the philosophy at Yoknapatawpha Acres was different from what she was used to. Many of her fellow employees were more interested in their paychecks than being the best they could be.
She wasn't as happy at the nursing home as she had been at the hospital, but she told former co-workers at the hospital that the Yoknapatawpha Acres residents really needed her. Natalie very seldom smiles these days, and she hasn't dated anyone since the doctor.
