Everyone that knows him calls him "Doc" even if he's not their primary physician.
 
"Saint" is the best way to I can describe Dr. Errol Wilder since Hurricane Laura decimated Southwest Louisiana.
 
Raised in a family of carpenters and construction workers, Dr. Wilder, a McNeese Athletics physician, has been working the field since he was old enough to carry a tool. A fifth-generation construction hand, he's the first in his family not to pursue the profession.
 
After serving four years in the military and getting a degree in geology from McNeese, Dr. Wilder pursued the medical profession later than most, beginning in his early 30s.
 
When asked why he decided to go into the medical field, his quick and dry humor response was "well we kept having kids." Anyone who knows Dr. Wilder, loves and appreciates his humor and sits on pins and needles waiting to see what he's going to say or do next.
 
I've been wanting to write about him for a while now because he's such an amazing human being, but after witnessing what he's been doing in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, I couldn't put it off anymore.
 
This family man LOVES McNeese and Southwestern Louisiana. There's rarely a Cowboy or Cowgirl sporting event he does not attend, and if there are several events happening at the same time, he splits his time among those events to make sure he shows his support.
 
Two days after Hurricane Laura struck, I was on my way back to Lake Charles for the second time to start putting tarps on mine, my parents' and sister's roofs. I received a text from Dr. Wilder early that morning telling me not to head home if I didn't need to, then a few minutes later, he sent me photos of my house already tarped that he did out of the goodness of his heart.
 
That brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't compile the words to thank him because there really aren't any for such a selfless gesture, and after I thanked him over and over, all he said was "it's about helping people. Just pay it forward."
 
Later that day he reached out to me again to let me know of a water pipe burst at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex, and then I found out he grabbed his tools and repaired it. Again, selfless acts of kindness. A Saint.
 
I took his words "pay it forward" to heart and just this past Wednesday, I was ready to help my great friend Patrick tarp some patches on his home off Maplewood Drive in Sulphur. But then I remembered that his two-story house has those steep roofs and knew it would be very risky for someone like me with no experience, other than tarping my sister's and parents' roofs, to even attempt to tarp the ones he has.
 
So I picked up the phone and called Dr. Wilder asking him what would be the best way to do it. He asked if it had to be done that day because he's not available due to running clinics just outside of Lake Charles.
 
At first I wasn't calling to ask him to help us because I knew how swamped he was, but then I guess part of me was hoping he'd offer.
 
He asked me to send him some photos of the house and within minutes of sending, he called me and said "man, that's a tough roof. If you can wait until 5 o'clock, I'll meet you over there."
 
I called Patrick and it was set.
 
I wasn't surprised at all that Doc offered. That's who he is.
 
So after running his clinic, he met us at Patrick's house around 3:15 (he ended clinic early).
 
For nearly five hours, Doc put new tarp on the spots that needed it and fixed the tarp that was already in place because the wind had found its way under it and was pulling it loose. Five hours! For Patrick and his family. Complete strangers to him.
 
That's who he is.
 
When I asked him how many houses he's worked on since the hurricane hit, he couldn't give an answer. I said "countless?" He nodded his head.
 
Then I asked him why does he do it. He said "because it's needed" and it "helps me take my mind off of what's going on. Plus it comes natural to me."
 
It's evident when you see what he's traveling with, he's running the roads looking to help where he can. His truck is loaded with his tools and a trailer attached is stocked full of gas cans, tarps, ladders, a generator and other carpentry needs.
 
And to give you an idea of how many roofs he's tarped, he's gone through four crates of roofing nails that contains 4,000 nails per crate.
 
A doctor, a carpenter, and oh by the way, he also plays the guitar and sings.
 
Dr. Wilder is the smartest, wittiest, most talented person I know.
 
He's a Saint and I'm blessed to call him a friend.

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https://mcneesefoundation.org/give/campus-emergency-fund/