I grew up in a loving home where faith, family, and service were foundational values. During my school years, I was part of a vibrant and growing church that played a significant role in shaping my character and worldview. Encouraged by church leaders and supported by my parents, I developed a strong faith in God and a deep understanding of the importance of living for His kingdom. These early experiences, including work and mission projects with my youth group and family, exposed me to areas of deep poverty and great need. They helped form a lasting conviction: that I have been deeply blessed and that the world needs more people willing to serve.
My college years were equally formative. I gained a deeper appreciation for the needs of people around the world and discovered how medicine could be a powerful bridge to healing—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I traveled to Mexico on multiple mission trips, offering medical support to underserved communities. Their enthusiasm and joy, even in poverty, taught me to live with gratitude, to treasure each day, and to value every human connection with humility and compassion. I became involved with the Christian Medical and Dental Society and the Christian Community Health Fellowship, which further expanded my understanding of how faith and medicine could work together in powerful ways. I participated in preceptorships with doctors serving in Chicago’s inner city and in Jackson, Mississippi, where I witnessed healthcare as a tool for racial reconciliation, community renewal, and personal ministry.
Medicine attracted me not only for its scientific intrigue but for its redemptive potential. I’ve always been drawn to understanding how complex systems could be combined to work together in ways not previously understood. In residency, I found great satisfaction in learning and developing my medical knowledge and clinical skills. I gained confidence in my ability to manage complex cases and deliver quality care. However, I also experienced depression and struggled to maintain relationships and stay rooted in the faith that had once been so central to my life. The long hours, emotional demands, and at times cynical perspectives within the medical community took a toll on my outlook. Slowly, I began to drift from the spiritual values and grounding that had previously sustained and guided me. After residency, I began my medical practice in College Station and eventually relocated to Central Texas. There, I transitioned into hospital medicine and helped develop the first hospitalist program in Waco. Later, after marrying, my family and I moved to Tyler to pursue a hospital program that allowed me to use both my internal medicine and pediatric training in a hospital setting.
Especially in the early days of my practice, my pride and fear of appearing inadequate made me hesitant to seek counsel. I believed I needed to have all the answers, and this mindset alienated me from valuable relationships and wisdom that could have helped me navigate the complexities of professional life. I’ve learned the importance of humility, collaboration, and remaining anchored to the values that have shaped my life.
Over time, I allowed stress, pressure, and a negative mindset to distance me from those values. Challenges accumulated, and I experienced seasons of discouragement and disconnection. In 2023, I encountered an opportunity brought to me by a trusted billing firm that led to my involvement in a federal crime involving COVID testing. I used poor judgment when I participated in a program to bill Medicare for COVID testing kits. I thought it was a legitimate program, but I was wrong. My actions violated the law, so I pled guilty to defrauding Medicare in December of 2024. I will face consequences because of these decisions; however, this poor choice, though incredibly serious and significant, does not represent who I am or what I stand for. It does not define who I want to be or become. It has served as a wake-up call to reconnect with the roots and foundation of faith and integrity. I am determined to live each day intentionally improving and striving to improve. I will live to serve my family and community and all those I can serve and become a positive influence.
As I face legal and other serious obstacles and challenges, my focus is on healing, growing, and giving back. I have begun volunteering with a local ministry, Mission Waco in their health clinic several times each month. I regularly volunteer to serve breakfast to those in the Meyer’s homeless shelter several times weekly. I am so grateful to reconnect with ministry, and the chance to give back to those in need. I am reading books and being mentored through pastoral care and counseling to understand myself, the reasons for my mistakes and ways to ensure I follow the correct path through life moving forward. Though I face many uncertainties and incredible challenges. I remain hopeful. The trials I’ve encountered have become turning points—opportunities to rebuild my life on a stronger foundation and to live with renewed clarity and conviction.
I am not defined by my mistakes or my worst moments, but by my character and the trajectory of my current and future decisions. My journey is teaching me. I am committed to rebuilding my life with integrity and purpose—serving my family, my neighbors, and my community. I am determined to grow from this experience and to show through current and future decisions that I can be a source of good. There is work to be done, and I intend to spend the rest of my life doing it with humility, hope, and faith.
