If you’re shaky on your feet, don’t worry, Rachel Oates has your back. Rachel is a physical therapist, working as an acute care therapist at Victoria General Hospital.
“It’s mostly mobility. How do we teach people to get in and out of bed, on and off the toilet, give them gait aids, set them up with programs,” she says.
And she’s really good at what she does.
“There’s one where he was close to both of us. He was bed-ridden and I watched that man get out of a wheelchair and walk towards me because of her,” says Rachel’s husband, Mark Cunnin.
But Rachel is so much more than her job.
“She’s my glorious daughter-in-law,” says Shirley Cunnin.
“Mark and I have a joke saying if he louses things up, Rachel is coming with me.”
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Mark and Rachel have been married for 14 years.
“A nurse I knew introduced us. She says, ‘We have a new physio from Edmonton who likes to do belly dancing,’” Mark says.
That’s right, belly dancing. Specifically, tribal fusion dance, one of Rachel’s hobbies.
But perhaps what she’s most passionate about is working with the Canadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad (CAMTA).
Quito, Ecuador, is where CAMTA does its work.
“What we do is we provide total hip replacements to individuals in Ecuador who otherwise couldn’t afford the surgery, and corrective surgery for kids with club feet, hip dysplasia,” says Rachel.
This year, Rachel will be making her 20th volunteer trip.
“I keep going back because the people that we help are so appreciative and so grateful, and I find when I go there it feeds my soul.”
The CAMTA stint is usually around Mark’s birthday, but he doesn’t mind. In fact, he loves her commitment, and it’s pretty clear that he loves everything about her.
“I think God cried when he sent that angel down to me. She’s one of the best and I’m so happy to have her,” he says.
And he’s not the only one.
“She’s a little quirky, but delightfully so, and there’s never ever a negative thought when it comes to Rachel,” says Shirley. “I’m honoured to be in her life.”
Whether in Ecuador, at Vic General, or in her own backyard with her devoted family, Rachel is passionate about giving back.
“It’s a calling, right? I look at it as, if somebody has a problem and I know that I may have the skills and the knowledge to actually help that individual, why wouldn’t I?” she says.