In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked physician couples how they met, what they like to do together and the challenges of being married to a fellow physician.
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Drs. Brad Granger and Laura Good
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Bradford D. Granger, M.D., LG Health Physicians Internal Medicine, and Laura Good, M.D., May-Grant Obstetrics & Gynecology
We met in our first year of medical school at University of Pittsburgh. Brad grew up in Southern California, so Pittsburgh was a bit of a shock. He didn't own a winter coat or a car scraper! We first noticed each other in Anatomy lab because our cadavers were next to each other. Not exactly a romantic start, but we did become friends. We were often in the same small groups because our last names are alphabetically close. As time progressed, we got to know each other and started dating.
After medical school, we "couples-matched" for residency in Richmond, Virginia. We married in Y2K, so this year we will celebrate our 18th anniversary. It was an easy decision for us to settle and raise a family here in Lancaster because we have a lot of extended family here.
Schedules are always a challenge, as well as long hours at work for Brad. But we share the same priorities and take our jobs as physicians very seriously, so we understand each other's commitment to work. After a serious illness, Laura is able to work part-time, which makes life in general much easier for our family.
We have two teenagers, Charlie, 15, and Anna, 13, who attend Hempfield schools. We also have a faithful dog, Bailey, and four badly behaved but lovable rescue cats.
Time with our family is the best time of the week. We love to travel and explore new places with our kids. Planning and looking forward to our vacation sustains us all year. Our favorite trip was a vacation to Italy. We are looking forward to this summer, when we are planning a trip to Colorado. Another special treat for us is a movie or Netflix series that our kids will watch with us.
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Drs. Jonathan Musyt and Jennifer Robertshaw, and their son Jordan, 1
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Jennifer L. Robertshaw, M.D., LG Health Physicians Family Medicine Lititz, and Jonathan Musyt, M.D., LG Health Physicians Family Medicine Lincoln
We met through penmanship. We went to different med schools, but we both took a year off between third and fourth year for an MPH at Jefferson. We sat next to each other in class, and Jenn somewhat jokingly asked if Jonathan had gone to Catholic school because his penmanship (when trying) resembled her dad's (when trying), which her dad had always attributed to nuns. Then we ran into each other at a family medicine grand rounds on single payer systems, and we hit it off. Pretty nerdy. After Jenn tried to set up Jonathan with just about every other girl she knew, we started dating.
We got married the morning of our residency graduation about a year and a half ago. We thank the residency program for hosting our wedding reception.
We have a son, Jordan, who just had his first birthday. Our family also includes Sara, who is Jenn’s cousin and Jordan's godmother and nanny, and Flower, Cricket and Sonny, who are our dog, cat and horse respectively.
The challenges of being married to a fellow physician include time, fatigue and perfectionism. The last year has been consumed with new jobs, new house, new baby.
Mostly Jenn loves watching Jonathan with Jordan, no matter what we're doing. Our second favorite thing to do together is binge-watching shows after Jordan goes to sleep. New goal: more date nights.
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Drs. Adam and Joan Thode
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Adam R. Thode, M.D., Manning & Rommel Associates, and Joan B. Thode, M.D., LG Health Physicians Roseville Pediatrics
We met while attending F&M for undergrad. Adam was a few years ahead of Joan, and he organized a community service group that she joined her freshman year. We got to know each other initially though working with kids at Schreiber Pediatric as "pool buddies.” We were good friends through college but didn't start dating until Joan’s junior year and Adam’s first year at Jefferson Medical College.
We have been together for 11 years, married for almost six years and now have a toddler daughter. Conflicting call schedules can make child care a challenge at times, but we are blessed with a lot of family and friends in the Lancaster and greater Philadelphia areas who have been very gracious in helping us with our daughter.
With different subspecialties, we also have our own neuroses at home. As a pediatrician, Joan is a bit of a car-seat psycho and has a hard time "letting loose" at parties where there is a pool, sometimes to Adam’s chagrin. He – understandably -- obsesses more about eye safety with household jobs and the use of sunglasses (Our daughter has about five pairs.).
Medicine isn't a job that you can "leave at the office," and on any given day, it's typical that one or both of us will have a patient or two on our mind or heart. While this can present a challenge, we have empathy for each other because we both understand the multi-dimensionality of caring for patients. Like all doctors, we are in a constant balancing act between work and home life, though we’re very thankful that we share our strong focus on family.
We love to run, hike and bike with our daughter, who thankfully loves our jogging stroller and hiking backpack. We've participated in a few local running races, though our days of running marathons together ended in med school. We also love to eat our way around Lancaster with family and friends regularly. The beach is our happy place.
Individually, Joan loves to play the piano and paint with watercolors. Adam loves to go on long road bike excursions outdoors or do spin class indoors.