Identical twins who endured poverty as children are now leading the emergency department at a hospital in the same Virginia hometown where they grew up, according to a report.
Drs. Travan and Travis Jasper became co-directors of the emergency department at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond in April, about 40 years after a painful childhood experience sparked their decision to become physicians, CBS reported.
The brothers were raised among some of the poorest children in Virginia’s capital. Their family home had no running water, and there were times when they did not have enough to eat.
“We had no running water,” Travan Jasper told the outlet. “We used to go and get water from like one of the parks. And we were hungry, hungry literally and hungry for success. Because for us, that was the only way we were going to get out.”
Their determination to escape poverty took shape after their uncle, who struggled with alcoholism, was admitted to a now-closed Richmond hospital, the outlet reported.
The twins were frightened and looking for reassurance. Instead, they said, the doctor treating their uncle was dismissive and told them he was receiving the care he deserved.
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“We talked about it out in the hallway,” Travan Jasper said, recalling the promise the brothers made to become better doctors than the one who had treated their uncle.
“And I think we have,” Travis Jasper added.
The brothers went on to graduate from high school as co-valedictorians. They later completed their undergraduate studies at Stanford University before attending medical school at the University of Chicago.
Four decades after making that vow, the twins have returned to Richmond to fulfill it—this time as leaders of a local emergency department.
“To be here, it’s amazing,” Travis Jasper told CBS News. “And I don’t think I could have dreamt it 40-some years ago.”
He said the hardships they faced ultimately helped shape the doctors and people they became. “I think all of the stuff that we went through, all of the negative days, made us who we are now,” he said.