The story of a man named Brady
Allentown PA Morning Call 20Jun99 L5
By Mike Frassinelli: The Morning Call

While he changed careers, went to medical school and completed a residency, Brady Benham has managed to stay involved in his children's lives. Benham, 41, a member of the LDS Church, makes time in his demanding residency to be involved with all eight of his children, coaching one son's flag football team, serving as scoutmaster, taking another to an amusement park, rewarding others with treats after chores or their piano lessons.

Benham started as a 29-year-old accountant working for a large auditing firm in Arizona. Dissatisfied with his job, Benham decided to persue a career in medicine. He quit his job, spent three years taking science classes at BYU to meet the minimum requirements, then spent four years in medical school, followed by another four years in his current residency in Gynecology and Obstetrics.

He still has four years to go, serving in the Air Force as a doctor in exchange for the Air Force's payment of his medical school bills. Now the family must move again, leaving Allentown for Scott Air Force Base in southwestern Illinois.

Along the way, the Benhams have expanded their family to eight children, and Brady has had to expand his parenting and domestic efforts to support his family and children, "Somehow, I was usually able to make it to all of my kids' ballgames and recitals," he said. "I compartmentalize my life. When I am at work, I am at work. When I am home, I am home. I didn't do research at the expense of my family. I did it at the expense of sleeping."

His wife, Kaye, appreciates the help that he provides at home, "I always find the house in better shape than I left it," she says. "He regularly mops my floor and does tons of laundry. But in case you might think he's perfect, he's not. He likes to dry everything and more than one item has been shrunk or not washed separately."

Benham spoke in his LDS ward on Sunday about the lessons he learned from his own father.