By David Simpson聽
Cue the costume change.聽
In late April and early May, Megan Frick finished her doctor of physical therapy degree at 麻豆国产AV, passed her licensure exam and started work at 麻豆国产AV Monarch Physical Therapy.聽聽
At the end of June, she鈥檒l trade her clinic gear for an evening gown and compete for the title of Miss Virginia.聽
"I鈥檓 really looking forward to representing this area,鈥 said Frick, the reigning Miss Hampton-Newport News. The preliminary rounds start June 29 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, with crowning on July 1.聽
For Frick, the pageant is serious business. Besides the title and crown, the winner receives $20,000 in scholarship money. And Frick will have a chance to push her pet project 鈥 a health screening and health literacy initiative she created last year.聽
It鈥檚 not a topic she dreamed up just for the pageant. Health literacy is a subject that burns within her.聽
It all comes down to what happened to her mother.聽
Frick grew up in Albemarle, North Carolina, east of Charlotte. By age 5, she was telling people she wanted to be a doctor.聽
But when she was 9, her father, a hair stylist, died.聽聽
It was a financial blow as well as an emotional one. Megan鈥檚 mother, a private-school teacher, made little money and couldn鈥檛 afford health insurance.聽聽
鈥淎nd my mom just never remarried,鈥 Frick said. 鈥淚t was really hard because, as someone who should have been enjoying being a kid, I never really got to do that. And so that was something I knew even as a 9-year-old: that the journey to getting what I wanted out of life was going to be kind of an uphill battle.鈥澛犅
She found a refuge in sports 鈥 track, volleyball, basketball, soccer. Along the way, though, she realized that the sight of blood made her sick. That meant she could never be a physician or surgeon. But in a 12th-grade athletic training class she learned about physical therapy.聽
"Hearing that physical therapists are able to help, basically, stretch things that are tight and strengthen things that are weak, I thought, 鈥楾hat actually sounds like something I'd be really good at.鈥欌澛
She enrolled at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, and majored in kinesiology, pre-physical therapy track. She also worked for the school鈥檚 football team, assisting the director of operations and director of recruitment.聽
One day, during her sophomore year, her uncle and aunt showed up unexpectedly at her dorm room. It wasn鈥檛 a social visit. Frick's mother had died of a massive heart attack.聽
鈥淚 fell to the floor. It was by far the worst moment of my life because my mom was my best friend,鈥 Frick said. 鈥淎ll we really had was each other. So I felt like part of me died that day, too.聽
鈥淚 did not even know she was sick. She didn't really know she was sick.鈥澛
As word spread across campus, a little light penetrated her darkness. Campbell鈥檚 football coach offered her a full-tuition athletic scholarship if she agreed to keep working for the team, Frick said. Stunned and grateful, she accepted.聽
But then she learned her mother had left a heavy debt. Creditors made it plain: Frick had one year to pay back the full amount, $87,000. To her, it was an unimaginable sum.聽
鈥淚 had never even seen $1,000, much less $87,000,鈥 she recalled. She had no choice but to put the family house on the market.聽
By Christmastime it had not sold, and she had to vacate her dorm for winter break. But she couldn鈥檛 stay in the North Carolina house, because there was no power or water. Instead, she slept on friends鈥 couches. She hit a low point.聽
Then a phone call came from out of the past. It was her favorite high school teacher, Mrs. Evans. Would Frick like to come spend Christmas with her and her family?聽
Lori and Chad Evans had a son, then 9, and a daughter, 14. Frick shared a bed with the girl for two weeks. Before Frick returned to school, the Evanses offered to convert their dining room into a bedroom so she could stay with them whenever she was off from classes.聽
The family 鈥渉as been a huge blessing to me,鈥 Frick said. 鈥淚 started going back there during all of my breaks.鈥澛
In March 2019, the Evanses went a step further, officially adopting her.聽聽
鈥淢egan just completed our family,鈥 said Lori Evans. 鈥淪he鈥檚 overcome so much. We鈥檙e super proud of her.鈥澛犅
Frick had never heard of adult adoption, 鈥渂ut they adopted me so that I could have health insurance and so they would officially be saying that they are taking care of me the way that my mom would have wanted.鈥澛犅
When it came time to look at graduate schools, Frick visited and applied to just one institution: 麻豆国产AV. The brother of a friend had gone there. When the Evanses drove her to campus, she knew instantly: 鈥淚n my head and in my heart, this was the place.鈥澛
In the doctor of physical therapy (DPT) program, she quickly found her area of focus.聽
鈥淣eurological conditions are my jam,鈥 Frick said, 鈥渂ecause I love the way the brain works. People who have had strokes or have other neurological conditions are really where you see the most drastic change in someone鈥檚 status.聽聽
鈥淎nd I think it takes really special people to work with those individuals, because it can be draining at times and you have to have empathy and patience. And what also drew me to that population was, like, these are the people I think I can help the most.鈥澛犅
She was wowed by the standardized patient program 麻豆国产AV offers through EVMS, where people portray patients for the training of healthcare professionals, and by 麻豆国产AV Monarch Physical Therapy鈥檚 high-tech pair of bionic legs, known as REX, which allow the wearer to experience normal movement patterns, even when the person's muscles can't activate themselves.聽
"Megan was a terrific student in the DPT program, and I am delighted that she joined our team at 麻豆国产AV Monarch Physical Therapy when she graduated," said Assistant Professor Lisa Koperna, who directs the clinic.聽
Frick said of her experience in the program: 鈥淗onestly, it's just been everything that I could have imagined.鈥澛
After her mother died, Frick started brainstorming ways to help people recognize the symptoms of disease, especially uninsured people who don鈥檛 see a doctor regularly. People like her mom.
Late last year, Frick started a knowledge bank and health screening initiative she calls S.I.M.plify Healthcare, using her mother鈥檚 initials. It鈥檚 designed, she says, to help improve health literacy and provide accessible resources to underserved communities. She distributes health information using her personal social media accounts.聽聽聽
鈥淚've been creating graphics that cover anything from high blood pressure to diabetes to Parkinson's disease 鈥 I'm trying to kind of run the gamut, to show as many people as possible different things to look out for and let them know when they need to get checked out.鈥澛
As part of her activities, she is partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of America for a community health day June 10 at 629 Hampton Ave. in Newport News. Healthcare professionals and local graduate students will be on hand to offer free screenings.聽聽
S.I.M.plify Healthcare will get a plug when Frick presents her platform at the Miss Virginia event. She鈥檒l compete on June 29 in lifestyle & fitness and evening gown competitions, and answer a question onstage. For the talent portion on June 30, she鈥檒l sing a Broadway number 鈥 she can鈥檛 reveal which one 鈥 that encapsulates her journey.聽聽
That $20,000 in scholarship money would come in handy, given that she鈥檇 like to work on a Ph.D. Regardless of the outcome, she vows to keep working hard.聽
"In everything I do now,鈥 she said, 鈥淚 always think of how proud my mom would be of me."聽