Our story began in the summer of 2018. Anne Byrd had just moved to Birmingham, Alabama to begin pediatrics residency. On one of her first nights in town she met up with a few of her new co-residents to check out the nightlife in their new home town. One of her co-residents, Patrick, brought along a friend of his from UNC (Hill) who was, allegedly, also starting residency in orthopedic surgery 'somewhere else.'

By now, all of you know that Hill is not, in fact, an orthopedic surgeon; he's not even a doctor! But Hill convinced Anne Byrd and her co-residents that he too was one of them. Such was his charm that they all believed them, one friend even asked for advice about her mother's knee replacement, on which Hill gladly (and correctly) advised.

It did not take long for Hill to admit to his good natured deceit, but he spent the rest of the summer getting to know Anne Byrd and the rest of her co-residents. Hill knew right away that he wanted to get to know Anne Byrd better, and so after a couple of weeks he asked her out on a date. They had a marvelous time together, drinking Sex Panther's at the Atomic Lounge (complete with temporary tattoos) and pocketing dumdums at Collins Bar. The night came to an end and Hill knew he wanted to ask Anne Byrd on a second date, but alas, it was not to be so!

Hill was only in Birmingham for the summer while doing an internship for graduate school. In the fall, he would be returning to Chapel Hill. Faced with that reality and the trials of residency, Anne Byrd knew that she had to resist her heart's yearn and tell Hill "no" to a second date, lest the pain of their inevitable separation be magnified.

Some years later, in the waning days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hill was in the midst of a solo desert road trip. While dining alone at Sego in Kanab, UT, Anne Byrd texted Hill and invited him to her residency graduation. While she had already allocated her single guest spot to her sister, Patrick once again brought them together, offering his plus one up to Hill instead of his mother.

After sharing an Uber to the graduation after party, Anne Byrd and Hill rekindled their relationship. By this time, Hill was living in Chicago while Anne Byrd moved to Nashville to begin fellowship. Despite the distance they began talking every night. Soon, they were flying back and forth between Chicago and Nashville, and then Raleigh and Nashville after Hill moved back south.

After 2.5 years of long distance, Anne Byrd and Hill set out on a road trip to Big Bend National Park, along the Texas-Mexico border. There, at sunset on New Years Day, 2024, overlooking the Rio Grande, Hill dropped to one knee and asked Anne Byrd to marry him.

Or maybe he did it in front of the world's largest pistachio at Pistachioland. You decide!

Our story continues; tune in on May 24th for the next chapter!