Love of Giving Brings Two Local Healthcare Workers Together
Feb 14, 2022MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Valentine’s Day is the day we celebrate love.
FOX13 is highlighting the love story of two healthcare workers whose bond has only grown stronger during the COVID pandemic.
LaKendra Bradley and Frank Banks said it was their love of helping others that brought them together.
“When I first got to Saint Francis Park from Bartlett, I thought, no way will I ever date someone I work with,” Banks, a certified surgical first assistant at Saint Francis Hospital said.
Love works slowly in medicine.
The demands and odd hours of the job leave little time or energy for a relationship.
“A lot of times, people don’t understand healthcare workers because the hours we keep, late nights, early mornings,” Banks said.
But, Banks met Bradley, a certified scrub tech. While working at the hospital, a friend convinced them to go on their first date.
And, romance won.
“One day, I got a chip in her armor,” Banks said.
“I decided to take a chance on a nice guy, and I’m really glad I did,” Bradley said.
Their bond grew even stronger during the pandemic, as they served as a support system for each other.
“If there’s days I’m not feeling myself, he’s there to pick me up and vice versa,” Bradley said. “If we’re both having a hard day, we get through it together.”
Bradley and Banks hold the lives of patients in their hands each day. Sometimes they work on surgeries together.
“If I’m in a room with him, I just know nothing is going to go wrong,” Bradley said. “The doctors have a great bond with him.”
Their passion of helping others and making a difference is what makes the couple’s bond unbreakable.
“We’re both giving people, and I guess it’s kind of the same in healthcare,” Bradley said. “We’re always doing things for the wellbeing of patients, not for the recognition. And, it kind of works in our relationship.”
The couple has been together for three years now but said it feels like they’ve known each other for a lifetime.
They both are working on Valentine’s Day, but plan to make dinner together to celebrate.