Neil was born into a long medicinal heritage, both his parents were MDs, and his father's line had that talent for generations before. His fate was determined by this, and he did not fail the expectations in that field, being a bright and creative kid in the school.
The problems began when the kid did not let go of talking about seeing spirits and ghosts around, just as other, normal kids do around the age of 5-6, but continued to sense them. His mother was a firm Catholic, so after a few years, when no talk, suggestion or psychologist could help she turned to the Church. The priest also tried to talk sense into the kid's head, finally achieving success. Only he did not just Neil decided that it'll be his best interest to keep his mouth shut instead.
Yet the weeks beside the priest and the years before did not went without results, he became obsessed by the saints and angels of the dead, submerging into the study of these cults and such. He never was a sporty kid, but from then on, he became even more pale - if thats possible -, died his hair black and let it grow long, refused to wear clothes other than black, practically becoming to one of the early Goths. He didn't let his grades fall, just finally had a hobby.
During his university studies came another relevation, when his other powers surfaced and he first pulled off a fellow patient's finger, shocking the soul out of them both. The young doctor managed to keep the patient's mouth shut, and so his secret life began. He experimented on the limits of his extraordinary ability, producing gross results on the dead targets and even more disturbing ones on the living animals he practiced on. Since he couldn't let the resulting creatures wander around, he kindly overdosed them with a sleeping poison-coctail.
He was known among the classmates as the "weird" guy, but he could make friendships nonetheless.
Not long after that his mother committed suicide, apparently she had severe mental problems which she hid from the only kid, while his father was so absorbed with work and experimental surgery technologies that he either didn't notice or didn't care. Neil grieved deeply, almost going insane with the emotional pain he felt, he loved his mother so much. He even tried to follow her but was saved both times, once by a classmate (Dr. DNA), next by a stranger, a weird, pale, dark-clothed young woman, for whom he felt a buzzing relation, a kind of charm. They talked a lot later but it was more a delicate friendship than anything else, but his death-wish was postponed thanks to her, for sure.
After completing his studies he began working in a hospital, but after a few years he abruptly quit and noone of his former colleges knows where he continued his avocation. In truth, one of his patients, a young woman revealed to him that he is a mutant. He didn't want to believe first, but he had abilities what he couldn't explain so he had to at the end. She told that too, that she knows a secluded place, a school, where there is -desperate- need for a good doctor, more if said doctor is a mutant and can do miracles on the wounded.
That woman was Avila, and the shool is the Xavier Institute, thats where he is living since that faithful day.