An Appalachian adventure

Healthcare Financial Management, Jan, 2004

David Richards, a member of HFMA's Texas Gulf Coast Chapter, recently accomplished a feat that many of us only dream of undertaking: He hiked the full 2,164-mile length of the Appalachian Trail, from Maine to Georgia.

But there's an added note to Richards' story: Along the way, he suffered a stress fracture in his lower back, complicated by a staph infection of the bone. He was evacuated from the trail by a search and rescue team, and ended up undergoing months of treatment when the infection turned out to be life-threatening. After seven months, he regained enough strength to return and complete the final 800 miles of the hike.

Says Richards, "I had been toying with the notion of a so-called 'thru-hike' of the entire Appalachian Trail for the past few years, and this seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do it. Of course, after my injury, all of my family and friends questioned the wisdom of completing the journey. I was confident that I could avoid another stress fracture and was obsessed with the notion that not finishing represented a form of defeat."

Richards says the experience caused his priorities to shift. "I was motivated more by directly helping people than by the financial compensation, prestige, and opportunities for advancement," he says. Richard's new priorities led him to take on his current position as CFO of The Center, serving persons with mental retardation, a not-for-profit organization providing such persons with residential, health, and day care services.