Rick Wells was in two professions that required him to be on his feet — barbering and photography.
He lost half of his left foot in March, but perseverance has kept him doing the work he loves.
For the next six months, Wells, owner of Rick’s Barber Shop in Summit since 2004 and local photographer, was out of work and depressed. Then he found and ordered an iWalk prosthetic device on Amazon and that enabled him to get back to work in August.
Wells, who is a diabetic, had an infection in his left foot — a black spot on his sole. He thought it was a blood clot and tried to take care of it, but it turned out to be dead flesh.
Trying to clean his foot was not working, and the infection ran through his body.
It was not until Wells took on another job as a Medicaid driver at Mount Zion Community Economic Center that he discovered the problem. He was always tired, and his boss made him go to the doctor to get checked out.
Dr. William Dixon discovered the infection in his blood.
“What they said is, if I had waited another week, I would have probably been dead,” Wells said.
Wells was checked out on a Tuesday, had all five toes and half of his foot amputated the following Friday. He is waiting for his foot to heal so he can get a prosthetic. In the meantime, the iWalk, which requires Wells to bend his left knee and put his weight on it, will have to do.
Wells unsuccessfully applied for disability, which added to his stress. His son, Fredrick, 15, a sophomore cornerback, running back and special teams player on the McComb High School football team, inspired him to find a way to work again.
“One day I was taking my son to school and he said that he wanted breakfast and I didn’t have $3 to get him breakfast,” Wells said. “So I made up my mind that I’m going to go and I’m going to figure out a way to get back in the barber shop. The whole time that I had been down, I always wanted to get back on the field to do sports because I knew he was playing this year.”
Wells did not have a phone at the time, but he went to the Pike-Amite-Walthall Library in McComb. He played with the Google app Canva and made a flyer letting people know Rick’s Barber Shop would be reopening. Then he found the iWalk on Amazon and ordered it.
The iWalk has three straps Wells puts on his left leg to remain stable.
Wells, a Christian who attends The Well church in McComb, also credits his faith with helping him get back to work.
“Before all of this happened, I gave my life back to God,” Wells said. “Situations in my life happened and I lost my mother and different things. So I was giving my life back to God. So, in reading the Bible, it says you’re supposed to work like you’re working for God. To me, there is no quitting because God will never quit on me so, to me, that seems like I should never quit.”
Wells has a little less than half of the customers compared to before, but he hopes to be back at full capacity in the next few months.
Otherwise, the job of cutting hair is business as usual.
“You’re basically standing in one spot,” Wells said. “Because the way we were taught in barber school, it was like you spin the chair. You don’t really just move around the chair. As long as you can stand and you know how to spin your chair, it’s pretty easy.”
Photography, particularly sports photography, is a different story.
“Football is a little difficult because you have to walk up and down the sidelines because the team is moving,” said Wells, a freelancer for the Enterprise-Journal who shoots McComb High School athletics. “You’ve got a 100-yard field. The team is moving constantly on the field. Sometimes you miss shots because you can’t get there fast enough. That’s the one hindrance that I don’t like is that I’m just not fast enough like I used to be.”
Wells uses a Nikon D750 camera and a 70-200mm zoom lens that can take relatively close photo from about 50 yards away. He said he stands about 25 yards away when the Tigers are on offense to see the play coming. He stands in the end zone when the ball is on the opposing team’s 30 yard line.
Wells said he has watched enough McComb Tigers football through the years to anticipate where a play is going. He noted he coached many of the athletes when they were younger playing for the Southern Mississippi Titans.
While there have been some obstacles, Wells is pleased with the way things have turned out.
But his story serves as a reminder about the complications that come with diabetes and the need for those with the chronic illness to take care.
“For the most part, I’m happy,” Wells said. “To simplify it, I’m happy just to be alive and to get the opportunity to do what I used to do.”
