The Madison Story

Encounter careers through the life of Madison. Click on underlined text to find more information about careers.

Madison was born on April 2. When her mother went into labour, she was at work and had no one to bring her to the hospital, so she called the paramedics. She was brought to the hospital where a nurse signed her in. During her labour, an anesthesiologist was called to give her mother an epidural. A labour and delivery nurse stayed with her the whole time whilst an obstetrician checked in periodically and helped deliver the baby when she was born. After, Madison was checked over by doctors and nurses to make sure she was stable before she went home.

Growing up, Madison regularly went to a pediatrician to ensure that she was growing properly. As a young child, and throughout her childhood, she was given regular vaccines against diseases that had been studied by epidemiologists, who then worked with other scientists to create those vaccines. 

When Madison went to pre-school, she was watched over by early childhood educators before she grew into school age. Madison was delayed with her speech. She first went to an audiologist to make sure her hearing wasn’t impaired. Her hearing was normal, so she ended up going into speech therapy. A speech-language pathologist helped Madison learn how to enunciate and put together sentences to catch her up to other kids her age.

When she was four, she entered elementary school where she was taught by many teachers. She became friendly with the school janitor, who always seemed to be there when needed. When there was trouble, kids were sent to the principal, but Madison was never one of those kids. On Mondays, Madison was given piano lessons by a piano teacher and on Wednesdays she went to skating lessons with a couple of different skating instructors. Her piano teacher used to be a pianist in a band while her main skating instructor used to win national competitions.

Every Sunday, Madison and her family went to a nearby café for breakfast. The same waitress seemed happy to serve them every single Sunday, almost without fail, and the cooks always managed to make Madison’s eggs the exact way she wanted them. Her favorite place to visit afterwards was a pet store next door to the café. There were always a couple of sales associates whenever she was there. She frequently saw them cleaning up after the animals or helping customers make purchases. They were always very nice to Madison, especially when she would visit the adoption cats and read the signs out loud for practice.

These visits to the pet store encouraged her parents to adopt a cat into the family. They went to the shelter where volunteers helped them find the perfect one. They needed to bring the cat to the vet to make sure he was healthy. When they went in, the receptionists helped them make a new account and sign in. When it was time to go in, a vet technician checked all the cat’s vitals before the veterinarian came in to do the exam and give the cat all the needles he needed. Later, when the cat got injured, that same vet did emergency surgery to save his life.

Madison loved animals, and so her parents frequently took her to the zoo. There were lots of exhibits and the zookeepers not only took care of the animals by feeding them and cleaning their areas, but they also put on lots of shows to teach about the animals. Madison also found out that there were zoologists who worked with the zoo to study animals. Madison was particularly interested in oceanic creatures and decided at a young age that she wanted to be a marine biologist.

Madison’s first job was at a cinema. She went to that same cinema on her first date to watch a movie that she can’t even remember the name of anymore. While working there, she did a variety of jobs including working at the ticket counter, at the food counter, and as an usher. When she went to college, her parents wanted to buy her a car. They went to speak to a loan officer to get a loan that was best suited to buy a vehicle at the lowest interest rate. At the dealership, a salesperson helped them pick the proper car for her needs. They went to their own mechanic to get it inspected to ensure that it was in good condition. They decided to purchase the car. A couple of months later, Madison started college.

While there, she spoke to a guidance counsellor to help her choose the best courses for her. She had many professors from all sorts of backgrounds. She found it fascinating to discover many jobs that she had never heard of before that dealt with animals.

She fulfilled her childhood goal of becoming a marine biologist. Soon after, she met a man and they got married. The wedding process took a lot of planning. They hired a party planner to really put it together. The party planner found the perfect DJ, an amazing wedding photographer, and even a videographer. A local florist supplied all the flowers required, including Madison’s bouquet and the centrepieces. They found a priest who officiated the wedding at an outdoor venue. They got married in a vineyard and the guests were able to enjoy all sorts of local wines from the winemakers who owned the property.

After they were married, they went on an all-inclusive trip to Costa Rica, which was coordinated with the help of a travel agent. They splurged and got first class tickets on the plane. They had amazing service by the flight attendants, who always made sure everything was in order, that they were comfortable, and that everyone knew the safety procedures. The pilot managed to land smoothly despite the thunderstorm that they had to go through.

Madison and her husband were surprised by a limo driver who held a sign up for them when they landed. Her mother had called and hired the driver just as an extra surprise. He drove them to their hotel, and then the couple signed in through the front desk. Concierge immediately assisted with their bags and brought them to their room. Madison and her husband were pleasantly surprised to discover that they had been upgraded to a honeymoon suite, free of charge. The housekeeper had folded the towels into animal shapes, and the room itself was beyond lovely.

They went on a variety of excursions while on vacation. They got surfing lessons, they went on a catamaran that was steered by a cheerful captain, and they went horseback riding at a local farm that had very friendly equestrians.

A couple of years later, Madison was pregnant. During that time, she needed to get bloodwork taken by a phlebotomist to both confirm her pregnancy and rule out any other problems. When it came time to check for any abnormalities and the baby’s sex, an ultrasound technician performed an ultrasound and then sent those photos for the doctor to check over.

About ten years later, Madison woke up to the sound of the fire alarm. A neighbour downstairs had accidentally set their stove on fire, which spread to the rest of the apartment. All first responders showed up, and the firefighters evacuated everyone in the building and then did their best to put out the flames.

After that, Madison and her husband decided that it was time to buy a house instead of renting apartments. They hired a real estate agent who showed them all the homes that were within their budget and had their wants and needs in mind. When they found the right one, they hired a home inspector. Then they went through a lawyer to help with finalizing everything.

Madison’s son, David, showed a keen interest in environmental sustainability. As he got older, he helped his family discover more sustainable ways to live their lives. He helped them steer away from big box companies and towards local businesses. He even found a farm that would deliver seasonal fruits and vegetables. They began to go to a butcher directly instead of pre-packaged from grocery stores. He got the entire family to use their green bin and to throw away less. Every week, the recycling trucks came, and the employees would dump it all in the back of the vehicle; in the same day, the garbage trucks would roll along and also dump the garbage in. The first time they didn’t have enough garbage to warrant putting it on the curb that week, they were all thrilled with themselves.

When Madison and her husband grew older and retired, eventually they found that they could no longer manage caring for themselves or their home independently anymore. They hired someone to stage their home to make it more presentable to buyers, and then sold it. They then moved into a retirement home where they had nurses,personal support workers , physical therapists and housekeeping. They found a new type of independence and had more confidence in what they were still able to do.

When his parents passed away, David had to deal with the estate. He hired a lawyer’s office to help with the duties of being an executor. The law clerks in the office handled most of it, but the lawyer was there to help with the most pressing issues. David had to plan a funeral for each parent in turn, through which the funeral director was kind, considerate, and patient. Their son had gone to the same funeral home for each parent when they passed, only a couple of months apart from each other.

David then went home to his own little family and continued his own path of being a wildlife technician, fulfilling his own passion within his career just as his mother had before him.