'I Think I Delivered You!': Doctor Finds Precious Art Made For Him By Young Patient-Turned Colleague

EDINA, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Minnesota doctor made a heartwarming discovery while cleaning out his basement last month.

This is a tale of two people who work in the ER. On is Dr. Tracy Powell, a physician.

"I feel like I make a difference. I really feel satisfied with caring for people." Powell said.

And the other is Moriah Novacinski, a physician's assistant.

"It's fast pace, something different every day," Novacinski said.

Their paths crossed a few years ago at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. Though we'll warn you -- that wasn't the first time they met.

"I was a St. Kate's PA student and on a rotation at Southdale, and I saw him like from a distance and knew who he was, but I guess was kind of intimidated to maybe go introduce myself," Novacinski said. "But he came up to me right away as he heard my name or saw it somewhere and said like, 'Moriah, I think I delivered you!'"

In his first year out of residency, Dr. Powell delivered his future co-worker.

"She was one of the first ones in practice that I delivered," he said.

And in that small world, Novacinski and Dr. Powell ended up working together after her graduation.

"When I see Tracy's name on my schedule, I'm like, 'Oh yes! I get to work with Powell on Thursday,'" Novacinski said.

She is now learning from Dr. Powell's experience in medicine, and in other things, like marathon running. He ran the Boston Marathon in 1996, and she ran it in 2018.

"I helped her with some of her training, we talked about training for a marathon," Powell said.

A life of parallels and tiny connections, which brings us to a moment last month when Dr. Powell was cleaning out the basement.

"All the sudden I came across three colored pictures," he said. "I kept them all these years."

All three of them from a little girl who grew up to be his colleague.

"She wrote this up for me, and she says, 'I will miss you Dr. Powell. Love Moriah,'" he said.

"Clearly [art] should have been my true career path," she said.

"I find these really precious, and that's why I kept them. They meant a lot to me," he said.

That discovery prompted a probe into the past, kicking up old memories.

"This is my baby book, so there's just a couple mentions of Dr. Powell," Novacinski said. "This was my kindergarten checkup. 'Dr. Powell noticed you still had a heart murmur.' It said, 'We had your two-year check with Dr. Powell. You were terrified of the nurses but OK with him.'"

Memories that have come back into focus as one incredible career winds down, and helps another take off.

"It was a great feeling and I'm so proud of her because she is, she's an amazing provider," Powell said. "She gives great care."

"I think one of Tracy's strongest characteristics as a physician is his ability to connect with people," Novacinski said. "He's, I think, impacted me along the way in many different ways."

The two still work together every month or so, but Dr. Powell jokes he wishes it was more often.