SHELBYVILLE, IL. —
Rick Reid, Physical Therapist Assistant at Shelby Memorial Hospital, can be found any week day helping to rehabilitate people from the community in the Physical Therapy Department. He humbly says, “I just feel it's my job to get people moving again. A physical injury does not have to be debilitating and movement does not have to be compromised.”
But Reid doesn't just give hope and motion to the people of Shelby County; he has made it his mission to help those abroad as well. Reid joined as a volunteer with an orthopedic team through the CRUDEM Foundation. He has been to the Hospital Sacre Coeur in Milot of Northern Haiti four times, two visits before the catastrophic earthquake in 2010 and twice since. Most recently, Reid volunteered from May 4-12.
Reid explained, “The first time I went, my wife went with me, and the need was overwhelming. We saw a constant flow of people suffering from an array of disabilities. I don't think we left a single day from the hospital with dry eyes. You cannot imagine the poverty and the need for help. People came to see us who been injured years before and had lived without ever receiving medical attention. Some hadn't been out of a chair for years from an old trauma because of the limitations from the injury. We usually saw a patient just once. We taught the patient or his/her family how to perform the much needed therapy techniques.”
“Since the earthquake there is a whole generation of disabled people in Haiti,” concluded Reid. “I remember seeing one young girl who had a rod implanted in her leg. As I lifted her from her chair and began to help her relearn to move, she whispered in my ear, 'I will never forget you.' Chances are I will never see her again but I will always recall the look of gratitude in her eyes. I can't think of her now without a lump in my throat.”
According to CRUDEM less than 45% of the Haitian population has ever attended school which becomes a stumbling block in communicating to the masses as to where, when and how people can receive help. Reid explained, “Only about half of the people over the age of 15 can read, so when the orthopedic teams come to help they are announced over the radio as 'The bone doctors are here.'”
He said, “A prosthetic lab from El Salvador has been established there and is a blessing since amputee patients are everywhere since the earthquake. I worked closely with it to provide therapy to those who have never had a prosthetic limb. I tried to teach a basic therapy to the amputee and to a family member.”
Reid continued, “Of course, disease is also a major player in their country, especially Cholera. The basic needs that we take for granted each day are a distant dream for Haitians. They spend a great deal of energy each day in search of food and water. The people there are so grateful for every thing we do for them. Making a difference like that in so many people's lives keeps me returning.”
“It wouldn't be possible without the support of my workplace. Marilyn Sears, CEO of Shelby Memorial Hospital, is always supportive to my trips to Haiti. Many times we have taken palettes of supplies to them as well. Just after the earthquake SMH sent thousands of dollars of supplies to Haiti. The supplies included diapers, bandaging, bottled water, medicine and so much more. Our shipping department at SMH worked for weeks to gather donations various merchants, then SMH paid the shipping to transport the supplies. The hospital has been incredibly generous about aid.”
Sears commented, “We are proud to have a physical therapist and humanitarian like Rick Reid on our team. He invests his skills in helping people every day here and the experience that he gains when he travels to Haiti only makes us that much more thankful to have him on board. At Shelby Memorial Hospital, we strive to heal and help those in our community and to provide the best of healthcare. Rick takes that mission one step further with his work in Haiti.”
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Related Photos
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July 5, 2012
Physical Therapy from Shelby County to Haiti
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