HOUSTON - Roy Fikes begins his volunteer day with a 2:30 a.m. wake up.
He gets ready, completes his paperwork, picks up his riders, and is on his way to Houston. Fikes plays a key role in making sure fellow veterans receive health care.
He is a volunteer; driving veterans from Bay City, Tx. for their appointments at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC).
At the MEDVAMC, Fikes waits patiently for all passengers to finish their appointments before loading up to head home. No one is ever left behind, even if their appointments run late. He drives 180 miles round trip, at least three days a week.
Over the last four years, Fikes has volunteered 5,521 hours for the MEDVAMC’s Veterans Transportation Network.
Described by fellow veterans as easy going and always with a smile on his face, Fikes, 68, says he simply likes to help people, and realizes that he himself may someday need help. At times he faces challenges, such as getting caught in Hurricane Rita evacuation traffic because a patient
needed dialysis, or having to stay late because a veteran needed an unscheduled procedure, or driving a patient on Christmas day for life-saving dialysis.
Sometimes, he does not get home to his wife of 50 years until late in the evening, but she understands her husband is on a mission. “It feels good to do what I do,” said Fikes. “I know people need my help and I’m glad to give it.”
Bryan Dyck, Voluntary Service Program manager at the DeBakey VA Medical Center, says Fikes is “one of those extraordinary volunteers, who’s willing to do whatever it takes. I wish
we had ten more just like him.” For these reasons and for his
dedication to fellow veterans, Fikes was chosen as the MEDVAMC Volunteer of
the Year for 2007. To learn more about becoming a MEDVAMC volunteer, contact
Voluntary Services at (713) 794-7135 or vhahouvolunteer@va.gov.
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