Every family starts with a love story. For Dominik and Emily Meyer, it began 16 years ago, on the day they first met in high school. Forming a connection when his family moved from Virginia to the western Chicago suburb, River Forest, they dated all the way through graduation.
After high school, Dominik attended the University of Chicago and Emily went to DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. The two continued to date for a year or so but eventually broke up. They did, however, remain friends and continued to stay in touch.
By the end of his undergrad, Dominik knew he wanted to pursue a career in podiatry and enrolled in the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago. The ability to do varying tasks all while caring for people is what drew him to the field.
“I liked the combination of clinic time, when you’d spend more quality time with the patients, with also being able to provide surgical services. Every day brings something new. It never gets old or boring,” Dominik said.
While Dominik studied podiatry, Emily pursued her own passions within the medical field, studying kinesiology and eventually nursing.
“I felt that with nursing, there was so many routes that you can take with it,” Emily said.
During Emily’s senior year of college, they rekindled their relationship and began dating again. In October of 2015, they marked their ongoing love story with a marriage ceremony.
Not too long after their wedding, they started expanding their family story. In August of 2016, they became parents to twin boys, Jonathan and Zachary. Now almost three, the young boys are full of life and about to start preschool.
“They have a lot of energy and keep us very busy, but they’re wonderful,” said Emily. “They’re best friends and enjoy playing together. They’re really good to each other.”
“They’re really sweet kids,” Dominik added.
Feeling a need to grow his own knowledge and experience, Dominik started looking for career opportunities outside of the practice he had been with since his residency. Based on his relationship with Dr. Grundy, and the proximity of Valparaiso to their families in the Chicago area, Dominik accepted a position with South Shore Foot & Ankle in December of 2018.
The family of four moved to the area in January of 2019 and have enjoyed getting to know Valparaiso and the surrounding area. They love going to the beach and hiking. The boys, in particular, love the parks in the area, while Mom and Dad enjoy sampling the many restaurants, breweries, and wineries.
“I like the sense of community here, everyone’s so friendly,” Emily said. “We love downtown— just being out and about, and the restaurants. It’s the best of both worlds. A really close sense of community but then being able to do things in Chicago.”
“I don’t see any need to go anywhere else at this point. It feels like a community here,” Dominik said. “The parks district is amazing. Downtown is family friendly, you can walk around relatively easy around here.”
With two young boys, Emily and Dominik keep busy, but that doesn’t stop either of them from pursuing their medical careers.
Emily currently works in the neuro-science unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She cares for patients who are dealing with strokes, brain tumors, epilepsy, and more. It’s challenging work, but she finds satisfaction in facing those challenges.
“It keeps you on your toes and you have to have up-to-date knowledge,” she said. “It’s a really hard time for a lot of people, and I enjoy helping them through that hard time in their lives.”
Working for South Shore Foot & Ankle is something Dominik is enjoying. The staff has been welcoming to him, as well as his family, and he has found many new opportunities. He is excited to bring his experience to South Shore Foot & Ankle and help them grow and expand.
“I have a lot of experience with diabetic foot care,” he said. “Both routine care and some more advanced, surgical, reconstructive procedures. I think that having someone who has a lot of experience with pretty bad cases is beneficial to the practice.”
Dominik and Emily are both excited that their move to Valparaiso has given Dominik the opportunity to be on the staff of several hospitals in the Region, such as Porter, Franciscan in Michigan City, and St. Mary’s Medical Center in Hobart.
“It allows me the opportunity to offer my services to a wider region than before,” said Dominik.
Welcome to the Region, Meyer family.
For more information on South Shore Foot & Ankle, visit their website: https://southshorefootandankle.com/