A love sparked in an ambulance rushing toward a medical emergency may seem like a standard sub-plot on one the many medical dramas that fill network television’s prime time slots. But for Gary and Lezlee Edwards, this is how their relationship began.

Lezlee first had the desire to become an EMT while still living in California after a fatal car wreck involving her mother and son resulted in what Lezlee described as “atrocious ambulance care.”

“I swore to myself that I would do everything I could to make sure that nobody had that lack of care,” Lezlee said.

Being familiar with the Cullman area from trips to visit her grandparents, and needing a change of scenery after the accident, Lezlee moved to Cullman where she worked as a nurse in the Labor & Delivery Unit at Cullman Regional Medical Center then later as an associate at Lowe’s.

It was during this time that Lezlee began training to be an EMT. As an eager student, when Gary’s ambulance received what Leslee said was “a really good call” she jumped at the opportunity to join his team.

Over the course of several weeks with frequent visits to Lowe’s to “specifically look for tools” Gary, who also serves as an instructor, worked up the nerve to express his interest to Lezlee.

“She gave me the wrong number,” Gary says. “When I called some guy answered.”

Eventually, Lezlee did give Gary her correct number. Two have been married for ten years.

While their shared career is a grueling one, the couple not only make it work, but share a more close knit bond because of it. Lezlee, an Advanced EMT, says that she has learned more from Gary, who holds the more advanced title of Paramedic, at the dinner table than she ever learned from a textbook. Which has also made Gary more knowledgable in the field.

“Well, she asks a lot of questions and sometimes there’s stuff that I’m not sure about, so I end up pulling out the books and studying more to figure out the answers,” Gary says.

It was these dinner conversations that led daughter Emily into the field. Lezlee said her daughter once told an instructor of her desire to become an EMT.

“Listening to them at the dinner table, talking about the stuff they did,” recalled Lezlee. “It didn’t matter if it was gross or not, I just always wanted to know more.”