BY LYNNE JETER

When Claire Morgan was 11 years old, her mother became pregnant and discovered she was having twins only two months before her due date. Soon after their birth, while other fifth graders were looking forward to recess and playtime, Morgan couldn't wait to race home and help her mother care for babies Catherine and Courtney.

"That's probably part of the reason why I went into pediatrics," said Morgan. "I went from playing with baby dolls to live babies."

The oldest of four children born to Calvert "Chris" Morgan, a financial analyst for Riverwood International Corporation, and Constance Morgan, a guidance counselor, she grew up in Monroe, La., and attended the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. In the eighth grade, she was voted Most Likely to Be A Neurosurgeon.

"I don't know why they thought I wanted to be a neurosurgeon because growing up, I can't remember a day that I didn't want to be a pediatrician, not just a physician, but a pediatrician," emphasized Morgan, whose extended family includes nurses and physicians. "They have a picture of me when I was four years old, playing with a stethoscope. My father's mother, who had diabetes and was always having to take insulin shots, told me that one day I'd grow up and be able to cure some of these diseases. I entertained other ideas, but I always stuck with wanting to be a physician, specifically a pediatrician."

Even though her parents had moved to Marietta, Ga., when she was in college, Morgan remained in Louisiana. She graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, where she also completed an internship and residency in pediatrics. She joined a local practice, developed a loyal following of patients in less than four years, and married Chad Calland last June. Morgan's life was right on track.

"I thought, 'OK, everything's going great,' and then all of a sudden Katrina happened," recalled Morgan.

In the waning days of August following the category four storm, water flooded the first floor of the medical building in which she practiced. Even though her office was located on the second floor, Morgan couldn't get back inside until October.

"I couldn't get into my house, we couldn't get set up for practice," she said. "September was the most difficult month because I didn't have a job. I didn't know if I had a house. Because my husband's an environmental consultant, I hardly saw him at all except for maybe every other night for a few hours. And then he was sleeping. I felt selfish because I was thinking about my own life and here were all of these other people who had lost everything, including family members, and it changed my whole outlook on life. I realized this wasn't the end of everything, and my problems could be far worse. I knew I should be doing something to help the ones going through so much turmoil."

Because many of Morgan's patients had relocated after the storm, getting back in practice was excruciatingly slow.

"I had to make a decision at one point whether I could continue to not make money, to dig into my savings and try to stay with the patients who were still there, or take a new job in Hattiesburg," she said. "I realized that financially and emotionally, it was the best thing to relocate and not have to go through another hurricane season like that again. The most difficult thing was leaving my patients."

Morgan joined the Children's Medical Group of Hattiesburg and quickly developed a new following. "I really do enjoy it here," she said.

She remains close with her family, especially her siblings. Only her brother, Christman, a healthcare consultant, shares work in the medical industry. Her twin sisters both worked for Hollister, a hot California-based lifestyle clothing retailer, in the same store at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge until corporate rules nixed relatives working together. Courtney remains manager of the Hollister store, and Catherine commutes several days a week from Baton Rouge to New Orleans to work for Morgan's husband, an operations manager for the privately held U.S. Environmental Services.

"People might be surprised to learn that I play the viola," said Morgan, who was a member of the prestigious Louisiana All-State Lion's Band during high school. "I stopped playing as much in medical school and haven't played in a few years. I keep saying that I'm going to try to pick it back up because when I did play, it was a great way to relieve stress."

To fill that void, Morgan exercises routinely. "If I go without exercising for a long period of time, I don't feel the same relaxation," she admitted. "I feel more stress with everything. I don't sleep as well. Exercise makes a huge difference."

Like many women struggling to balance a hectic schedule, Morgan has found a way to maximize exercise time. In addition to hopping on a treadmill at her home on a regular basis, she also adopts the SuperSlow® exercise philosophy, which can produce three times the same results in one-tenth of time involved in other exercise programs. Using SuperSlow equipment in her home, she spends only 20 minutes twice a week to improve strength and endurance, bone density, cardiovascular efficiency and metabolic rate.

"It's difficult the whole way through and requires total concentration," she explained. "The muscles are worked so much that you can only do it once or twice a week. It certainly helps me with time management."

Morgan and her husband enjoy traveling, with a goal of touring all 50 states, especially with their cat, Pokey Cleopatra, named so because "she has eyes that look like she's got eye makeup around them," said Morgan, with a laugh.