Dr. Parker lends his considerable medical expertise there helping the Arcadia charity foundation Wings of Angels address the medical needs of poverty-stricken families living just south of Douglas, Arizona.

The doctor first learned of Wings of Angels when he heard about a young boy who had extensive burn scars that were restricting the movement in his leg and ankle. The physician met with Dottee Watkins, the foundation’s founder, who introduced him to the young burn victim, Martin Chonchoa.

“When I met him, I knew that it would take more than one surgery to fix his leg, but didn’t know how we could arrange it. I also knew that I wanted and had to perform surgery on this energetic and delightful young man. Dottee and Wings of Angels and countless others helped make it happen.”

This Phoenix native grew up near 16th Street and Bethany  Home Road. His younger brother is an interventional radiologist in Princeton, New Jersey. Their sister, the baby of the family, is a public defender for juveniles. She suffers from kidney disease, and when his sister needed a transplant, Dr. Parker donated one of his kidneys to her.

If you ask Dr. Parker how he ended up in his profession, he says, “I always wanted to be a doctor. Always have enjoyed working with children.”  After studying general surgery in New York, Dr. Parker did a burn and plastics fellowship at one of the largest burn units in New York and was on duty during 9-11. He then did another fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Philadelphia, where he continued to work with children and burn victims.

Dr. Parker says he likes the idea that the work he does on children that suffer from burns, lacerations and broken facial bones will live on long after he is gone. Always willing to help children, local hospitals all over the valley call on Dr. Parker to help out with dog bites, broken jaws and other emergencies.

Dottee Watkins has nothing but high praise when it comes to Dr. Parker. “He is a favorite among the Mexican border poor he treats at the monthly Wings of Angles Crisis Intervention Clinic.”

In turn, Dr. Parker speaks highly of Dottee’s organization. “The foundation deals with children that are severely malnourished, profoundly mentally and/or physically handicapped. The foundation has helped to obtain land and build homes with concrete floors and electricity for people that live with dirt floors and no electricity or plumbing. We often solve social and medical issues using 21st century technology in an area which is very much the third world. How will electric medical devices work in a home with no electricity?”

Anyone wishing to make donations to the Arcadia area foundation can contact the group at: Wings of Angels, Box 15, 4540 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85018, or by calling 602-326-0057.

If you don’t like something change it;
if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.
— Mary Engelbreit

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