In March of 2072, an exceedingly pregnant woman gave birth to an exceedingly unremarkable child.
The interesting part of Ochris' story begins a few months after the EMP when she was adopted by a US National Guard combat medic whose dog-tags read “M. Higgs”. The National Guard had been deployed all over the United States to quell riots and hand out supplies, and Philadelphia was in rough shape. Military rule was in the process of being established.
A severely wounded mother with her 3 year old child wandered into the camp for medical treatment. Nearby, a group of desperate citizens attacked the guardsmen in a supply raid gone wrong. Even as the order was given to open fire, Ochris' mother was dying. Higgs was faced with a choice: stay with the relative safety of the military, or stay with this newly orphaned toddler. She chose to raise Ochris and defected that day.
Higgs (whom Ochris called “Grandma” despite knowing that they weren't related) taught her not to show weakness by crying, how to read and write, and whatever she could about emergency medicine. They made their living by providing what medical care they could to anyone hurt or injured. Higgs used to tell Ochris, “You can only trust someone while you're savin' their life. Past that, all bets are off.” Because of this, Ochris has some trust issues and rarely lets people in: she's never even kissed anyone.
Higgs was tough and fearless, at least in Ochris' eyes. The night Higgs died, Ochris got absolutely trashed and woke up naked the next morning on Improbable Island. Knowing she hadn't left any family behind, she wasn't homesick, but she was introduced to many new things to fear (the poor thing).