When Rebekah Perkins decided to pursue her Associate of Science degree in Respiratory Care in 2007, she never imagined she would leave school less than two years later with one of the most enduring, essential friendships of her life. 聽 Neither did Courtnie Crawford. But when the two Arizona women met in class at Apollo College (which several years later became 黑料不打烊) in Phoenix, they developed a fast friendship鈥攐ne that has thrived for 14 years.
鈥淲e had so much in common that I guess a great friendship was inevitable,鈥� says Rebekah. 鈥淏ack when we started school, we were both 24 years old and married. I already had three kids, and Courtnie had just had her first. We were both figuring out how to juggle jobs and school while raising young families. It wasn鈥檛 always easy, and I think we gravitated to each other because we both understood the balancing act and the level of commitment it took to make it all work.鈥�
Rebekah and Courtnie met in the third semester of the Respiratory Care program, when Courtnie returned to school after taking a brief break to have her baby. 聽 鈥淚 was already in a study group with four girls who studied really well together, but Courtnie showed up and fit right in,鈥� Rebekah recalls. 鈥淲hen we got together for study groups, we both often brought our kids. Sometimes it was crazy, but somehow it all worked.鈥� 聽 In addition to studying for their program, Rebekah and Courtnie were also part of an Arizona state championship team that competed in the National Sputum Bowl, an American Association for Respiratory Care educational competition that Rebekah describes as 鈥渟ort of a respiratory Jeopardy.鈥� 聽 After graduating and passing their National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC) credentialing exams, Courtnie and Rebekah each worked for years as registered Respiratory Therapists at skilled nursing facilities and Phoenix-area hospitals before being hired at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale鈥擟ourtie in 2015 and Rebekah one year later. Both are now Vascular Access Specialists, a specialty which includes the placement and care of peripherally inserted central catheters. They typically work three 12-hour shifts per week, and often find themselves assigned to the same shift.
鈥淚 love it when I check my schedule and see that Rebekah and I will be working together,鈥� says Courtnie. 鈥淲e always have a great time, and we know each other鈥檚 working style and rhythm so well that we鈥檙e very effective as a team.鈥�
They鈥檙e also able to provide each other with moral support when it鈥檚 needed. During the past year of pandemic pressure, that support has been needed often. 聽 鈥淚 love my job, but it鈥檚 been a rough year for most of us working in health care,鈥� Courtnie says. 鈥淏eing healers and helpers is a privilege, and it can also be demanding and draining. Rebekah and I both know what it feels like to be concerned for patients and to face the reality that no matter what we do for them, there are times when it鈥檚 not enough. And between us, Rebekah and I also have seven kids between the ages of nine and 17, so our lives away from the hospital can also be very full and demanding.鈥� 聽 Courtnie and Rebekah say they鈥檝e seen each other at their best and worst, and they always have each other鈥檚 backs. 聽 鈥淢y youngest daughter has some health challenges, and Courtnie understands all the fear and anxiety I鈥檝e had over the past year about exposing my daughter to anything,鈥� Rebekah explains. 鈥淲hen my ex-husband and I made the decision that our four kids would live with him last summer because of the covid risk factors associated with my job, Courtnie understood how tough that decision was for me鈥攁nd why it was the right decision under the circumstances. Her support meant the world to me.鈥� 聽 Rebekah says that while family and friends do their best to be empathetic and encouraging, they can鈥檛 fully appreciate what it鈥檚 really like to be on the front line of health care鈥攅specially now.
鈥淯nless you鈥檙e living it, day in and day out, you can鈥檛 fully understand the pressure and stress,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏ut Courtnie does. She gets it鈥攁nd she gets me. When I have one of those days where I鈥檓 feeling overwhelmed, she can relate because she鈥檚 been there. I think that connection鈥攁nd the support we鈥檝e been able to give each other鈥攈as helped keep both of us grounded over the past year.鈥�
Courtnie and Rebekah agree that working together over the past five years has been an unexpected gift. 聽 鈥淚f someone had told us when we met that we鈥檇 become such good friends鈥攁nd that we鈥檇 be working together 14 years later鈥擨 don鈥檛 think either of us would have believed it,鈥� says Courtnie. 鈥淭here are times when we鈥檙e at work and I remember all those times we studied for exams together, wondering if we鈥檇 pass. We鈥檝e come a long way.鈥�
