Yuba City doctor on his way to aid Chile

Wrapping up his residency at Harvard University, budding pediatrician and Yuba City native Ryan Swinney could be focused on his original plan: Opening a pediatric practice in Northern California.

Instead, he'll fly to Chile this weekend to assist those stricken by the record earthquake and tsunami, and in doing so give back to a family he said helped him in the past.

"It's a real catastrophe," said Swinney, a 1996 Yuba City High graduate who stayed with a Chile family and sharpened his Spanish while he was a high school exchange student. "I have a real need to connect with my family, and I really feel like I owe them for the Spanish skills I have now." Because he's used Spanish several times in medical school while treating Mexican families in Los Angeles and Dominican immigrants in Boston, the earthquake immediately resonated with Swinney, 31, who said his host family's town, Angol, is only 50 miles from the epicenter of the 8.8 temblor.

Within the last few days, he got word about two host family members who had been hurt. Because much of the resources for earthquake relief are being directed to larger cities like Concepción, he said, his medical skills are likely to be welcomed in Angol and the surrounding areas.

Swinney said he didn't join an organized relief effort because he wants the flexibility to go to his host family.

On Thursday, Swinney made the rounds of several Yuba City businesses where he knows owners through his family, which owns Evans Furniture, as well as houses of worship with faiths common in Chile.

Acknowledging the short notice, he asked business owners and manager for donations he could use to buy medical supplies and other vitally needed provisions for Chile.

"Because of the urgency, it's probably going to be monetary donations," Swinney said, explaining he planned to buy the items before he left and pack two suitcases with water purification pills, bandages, clothing and other items before he leaves.

"Part of it is trying to see what I can do, and it's also about spreading the word," he said.

At Koball and Brown Insurance Agency, Glenn Koball Jr. was impressed by Swinney's pitch, noting Swinney isn't going on behalf of or in affiliation with any other relief agency.

Koball agreed to write Swinney a $500 check. His reason? He knew Swinney would get it to where it was needed.

"It makes a huge difference when you know where it goes," Koball said afterward. "To be honest, if I'd gotten a call from anyone else, I might still be donating, but it would be only $50 or so."

Swinney said he planned to spend both Thursday and today soliciting, buying and packing, with the intention to stay in Chile for at least three weeks and as long as two months, if needed.

While there, he said, he hopes to use his pediatric skills to help the littlest survivors, who are at risk for diseases commonly found in disaster-stricken areas, such as cholera and dysentery.

"Medical services are difficult there," he said. "Anything that's a specialty need is kind of lacking right now."

How to Help

For more information, contact Ryan Swinney at 626-497-9721 or ryan.swinney@gmail.com.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com.