CHANDLER, AZ — It's like a plot straight out of the hit ABC series, "Grey's Anatomy."
She's a nurse, he was a paramedic - and their love for helping people lead to them falling madly in love with each other.
But there is something else very special that this couple has in common, and it turns out, they had a heart connection long before they ever met.
It's been a decade of wedded bliss but it definitely didn't start out that way for Nate Stuart and Tiffany Hackett-Stuart.
"She avoided me," explains Nate.
"I definitely did!" says Tiffany.
Tiffany tells ABC15 she wasn't even thinking about dating at the time, but Cupid had other plans!
In this story, there's no Meredith Gray. There's no "McDreamy." There are no bizarre love triangles or plot twists.
Instead, it was Tiffany, a newly single mom of two daughters who was an ER nurse at Chandler Regional Medical - and Nate, a bachelor paramedic who would run into Tiffany on the job, bringing patients into the emergency room.
"He would linger in the ER a little," explains Tiffany.
"I did not linger," explains Nate.
But eventually, this bachelor would make his move.
"I had three really good friends who worked the night shift and they were going out to dinner and they were like, 'come on, just join us,'" explains Tiffany. "And we were talking in the nurses' station. He just happens to be there charting and I made the comment, 'I don't want to be your seventh wheel.'"
"And I looked up from my clipboard," says Nate, "And I said, 'If you ever want to make those odds even, let me know.'"
At the time, Tiffany says she ran into a nearby patient's room out of embarrassment, but would soon realize, she could run but she couldn't hide.
"He did win me over," Tiffany finally admits.
After a few months of playing "hard to get," Tiffany agreed to go out with Nate, and from that very first date, Tiffany says something felt different.
"We had a good time together," says Tiffany. "We still have a good time together. And we laugh a lot."
"I think we really understood each other's jobs," explains Nate. "It's therapeutic in a way to know that someone understands what you're saying, but also have empathy because they have been there as well."
But it wasn't just working here at the hospital that the two love birds had in common - and it wasn't something that either Nate or Tiffany could actually see, but it was definitely something they could feel -- and it caught them both by surprise.
"I literally felt it in my heart," explains Tiffany.
And for good reason. More than their love for each other, Nate and Tiffany had something else in their hearts that would link them in an equally surprising way.
"It's just the craziest thing that ever happened. What are the chances?" asks Tiffany.
Before they'd ever meet, Nate and Tiffany were already forming a bond that very few people could understand: they were both born with congenital heart disease - and not just any heart disease, but the exact same one. They were diagnosed with something called an "aortic coarctation," or a narrowing of the aorta.
"I actually started the convo. We were talking about healthcare and the safe topics and I asked what's your favorite kind of patient. And he said cardiac patients and I thought, 'that's interesting because that is my favorite kind of patient, too.' And he went ahead and shared his story and thought this is really crazy! But I have the exact same congenital heart defect."
But the coincidences weren't over yet.
"Not only are you the first person I met with this, but we have the same heart problem and we had the same surgery!" explains Tiffany.
As they look back on their wedding day, for these two, who are so used to helping everyone else, they now realize the imperfections in their own heart were really helping them discover the perfect match.
So as Nate and Tiffany are maintaining their love for each other, they're also continuing their love of helping others. Nate still works in healthcare and Tiffany is the nurse program coordinator for fetal cardiology at Phoenix Children's Hospital - ironic, considering her personal history.
She is also one of the American Heart Association's Women of Impact, helping to raise money and awareness.
If you'd like to take action and help out, click here.
