Emily Phillips, a mother of three from Celina, Texas, posted on her Facebook asking if anybody had an RV her family could borrow. Her husband is a Doctor and needs to be quarantined from the rest of the family when he is off duty during the coronavirus crisis.
Emily Phillips told USA TODAY that she was concerned when her husband, Jason , would return home in scrubs and medical gear after working with numerous patients daily as an emergency Physician. She said she was afraid he might inadvertently infect her, or her children, 8-year-old Landon, 5-year-old Ella, and 6-month-old Beau.
A woman named Holly Haggard replied saying that Phillips could borrow her RV.
“Before the RV, I was a nervous wreck. Every time my husband walked in the door or put his hand on something, I thought we were going to get (Covid-19), including my baby,” Phillips said. “But now that he’s in that RV, I’m back to my life, focused on my full-time job and my kids, and it’s completely changed our situation.”
Knowing that there were countless other families in similar situations as hers, Phillips and Haggard created the Facebook group RVs 4 MDs.
“Every Doctor or Nurse that we can self-quarantine, not in a hotel, we thought we could be saving thousands of lives,” Phillips said. “Because if they expose their families, their families go to the grocery store, and all these other people catch it.”
There are now 10 online administrators who work 24/7 trying to match RV donors with medical people looking for a camper. Like Dr. Justin Rizer, fighting on the frontlines in Virginia. Protecting his family is at the front of his mind every time he comes home.
“It feels scary because you feel like you’re bringing this COVID, this coronavirus, back home every time. Even if you take precautions with masks, PPE and gloves and other stuff,” Rizer said.
His wife Angela found the Facebook group and reached out. Thanks to the group, the Rizers met Gregory Williams from Richmond, who drove nearly twohours to deliver his RV to the family for free.
“It’s a no-brainier kind of decision. I had an RV that I wasn’t going to be using anytime soon. Somebody needed it… they’re the real heroes,” Williams said.
Williams even stocked the RV with toilet paper. And at no cost, he’s letting the Rizers use it as long as they need.
The Facebook group has connected more than 20,000 Americans so far.
To learn more about the group, click here.