Piquette Square for Veterans

Rickey

Rickey Wright grew up in a small town in Alabama. Living in a rural town, the only African American professionals he saw were teachers – and he thought that was the best job an African American man could get. When Rickey moved to Nashville for college, he realized he could be anything he wanted and switched his major to pre-med. During college, he joined the ROTC, so when he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pre-Med/Biology, he was also commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Rickey’s acceptance to medical school allowed him to defer his active duty until he graduated and completed his residency. He finished medical school, then completed three years of training as a surgeon, eventually switching his studies to focus on emergency medicine and family practice. After his residency, Rickey became a flight surgeon for the Air Force, serving first at Dyess Air Force Base, then Kadena Air Force Base and finally at McClellan Air Force Base, where he served as a Major. Although the military was grooming him for a hospital commander position, he decided a desk job wasn’t for him and he retired.

Rickey was invited to join a private medical practice in Ohio that was integrating family care into a system that also provided chiropractic, physical therapy and massage therapy. After working there for two years, he bought the practice and ran it successfully for 15 years.

In 2010, Ricky was diagnosed with diabetes and it progressed to pancreatitis. “My bills piled up. I couldn’t work. Everything just collapsed. I couldn’t pay my mortgage. My house went into foreclosure. They took all my worldly possessions, even my diplomas. I lost everything that day. I lost my house, my practice, my cars. I lost my dignity. All in one fell swoop.”

Rickey traveled to Detroit in 2011 to recuperate with family. There, he was hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis for the second time and nearly died. After recovering, he took a job working as a security officer. Then tragedy struck again.

“I was crossing Michigan Avenue and that is the last thing I remember. I was hit by a car. I broke most of the bones in my body – both arms were shattered, four bones in my back were broke, and every rib on my left side. The accident punctured my lung and my heart, it took all the cartilage out of my knees.”

When he recovered, a social worker in the hospital helped Rickey get into transitional housing at the Salvation Army in Detroit. He lived there for a year and a half before getting an apartment at Piquette Square. Rickey began working part-time jobs before landing a full-time position in the medical field – he works as a Community Health Associate at Partners 4 Health, a partnership of health and human service agencies in Wayne and Oakland counties. Rickey volunteers as President of the local chapter of REBOOT, an organization that helps Veterans prepare for civilian life after service. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Southwest Counseling Services.

Rickey is working on bringing his continuing education credits up to date so that he can get his medical license and practice in Michigan. “That’s my hope. I’ve been out for five years and that is a long time to be away from something you love, something I’ve done my whole adult life. I want to work with those that are less privileged. I want to work with a nonprofit or community-based clinic so that I can give back. It’s taught me a lot living at Piquette. I’ve grown. I’ll take a lot of that away with me, into everything I do in my personal and professional life.”