Married nurses who are on the frontlines amid the coronavirus pandemic have captured the hearts of thousands after a heartwarming photo of them embracing in their protective equipment went viral.
Ben Cayer and Mindy Brock — husband and wife, and fellow nurse anesthetists in Tampa, Florida — peered through layers of protective gear and locked eyes between surgeries one stressful morning.
A co-worker was there to snap a picture of Cayer, 46, and Brock, 38, as the held a lovers’ gaze in the most unlikely situation. Now the image, shared on social media, is inspiring people around the globe.
Inspiring: A co-worker photographed Ben Cayer, 46, and Mindy Brock, 38, looking into each other’s eyes between surgeries after a stressful morning. The photo has since gone viral
‘Everybody’s talking about the photo,’ Cayer said. It strikes a chord ‘because we’re all going through the same thing right now and it’s a symbol of hope and love.’
Brock added: ‘What’s important is that we stick together, we work together, and we always support each other. And not just Ben and I, but the human race right now.’
The Florida pair share a home, a profession and, now, a mission — shouldering the high-risk duty of placing breathing tubes in surgery patients, any of whom may have COVID-19.
Cayer said they didn’t think twice about volunteering for Tampa General Hospital’s new ‘airway team.’
Look of love: On the day of the photo, Cayer and Brock had bickered during the drive to work, but the tension melted when they later saw each other at the hospital
Dangerous job: The couple, who met in nurse anesthesia school in 2007, are placing breathing tubes in surgery patients, any of whom may have COVID-19, at Tampa General Hospital
Placing a tube into a patient’s mouth and down into their airway requires close contact — and because the virus spreads in droplets, the highest level of protective gear. To conserve gear and expose fewer health care workers, the hospital pared down staff to a minimum for intubations before surgery.
Their patients have been in car crashes or needed brain surgery because of a ruptured blood vessel. As is the case at many U.S. hospitals, only emergency surgeries continue at the Tampa hospital, to make room as the pandemic continues to crest.
They met in nurse anesthesia school in 2007. In classes, they sat in alphabetical order. Brock next to Cayer, she said, ‘and it just took off from there.’
They married five years ago, and on the morning of the photo, they bickered during the drive to work. They disagreed about what to play on the car radio and who was doing the dishes at home.
Dedicated: Cayer said they didn’t think twice about volunteering for Tampa General Hospital’s new ‘airway team’
The new COVID-19 procedures — it was Brock’s first day on the new team — were making them both tense.
‘We were arguing,’ she said. Later, they found each other between surgeries. The tension melted. ‘All those trivial things that we were arguing about that morning, in the grand scheme of things, aren’t that important.’ The photo captures that moment.
He said they don’t worry much about getting sick, although the virus has come close. Brock’s mother has recovered from it; her sister tested positive. Co-workers fear catching it. Patients feel alone because visitors have been strictly limited.
‘We have grown men bawling because none of their family can be there with them,’ Brock said.
It helps to be married to another nurse, because ‘unless you’re here doing this, there’s no way to describe it,’ she said. ‘He gets it.’