It all started in 2019 when a young, hopeful, and energetic Dr. Reyes showed up as a brand new rotating intern at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Reyes had aspirations of becoming a Veterinary Surgeon, which is a highly competitive and daunting professional endeavor. On day one, she approached the surgical residents to gain experience and begin to build her resume for the residency match. Dr. Reyes eagerly introduced herself and asked if she could help them with their ongoing resident research projects. Dr. Worth was amongst this group of residents and was somewhat tired and grumpy, now beginning his last year of a 5-years-long post-graduate journey in specialty training. He quickly replied, "I'm already done with my research, so check with somebody else." Needless to say, it wasn't love at first sight.

Despite this initial interaction, for some reason Bianca and David consistently found themselves working on the surgical services together, or interacting in the hospital as Bianca would seek surgical consults while covering the ER. Over time, this initial annoyance grew to mutual respect and eventually evolved into a friendship. They worked together at Purdue for nearly a year before something began to develop. It started once David went out of his way to spend more time with Bianca out of the hospital, including jogging- which anyone who knows David can understand that is a big deal. It was some time in May of 2020 that David finally invited Bianca out on a date... only there was no place to go because everything was shut down due to COVID. He invited her over to his house and they enjoyed some delicious potato soup that David's mom had just made from being in town (Thanks Kare!).

While this new connection was exciting, the future was somewhat unclear. As veterinarians seeking specialty certification, we often live a nomadic life and frequently move across the country from one year to the next. Bianca was finishing up her rotating internship in Indiana and had matched to a surgical internship in south Florida, whereas David was finally reaching the end of his training and was beginning his career as a small animal surgeon in San Antonio. Fortunately, David had a bit of a break between the end of his residency and job start date, where he was able to go out to Florida and visit Bianca. It was at that time they both recognized this had the potential to be something special and was worth pursuing. Bianca and David began a two year long-distance relationship, first from Florida to Texas and then North Carolina to Texas. They would trade off visiting each other and would spend a long-weekend together every 2-3 months. When Bianca matched to Oregon State for her residency, David decided it was time for the long-distance to end. He left the promised land of Texas for Oregon.

They began their relationship in earnest together in Oregon. There were some initial challenges of learning how to transition from a long-distance relationship to seeing each other every day (primarily related to Bianca's "Special" Frenchie, Phillipe). Their relationship continued to grow and finally, after 3.5 years together (more-or-less), David decided to 'buy the cow' and proposed to Bianca on the top of Mount Bachelor with Bianca's family waiting below to celebrate. They are beyond excited to celebrate their wedding with their friends and families together in Puerto Rico. Bianca is set to finish her residency at OSU in July and they are thrilled to begin their married life together as veterinary surgeons in Austin, TX.