‘Grateful Patient’ Pays it Forward to MASS Clinic
Last December, Roderick Borisade started limping for no apparent reason. He also had trouble making a fist.
When the left side of his body starting going numb, Borisade knew he needed to see a doctor right away, but lacked health insurance.
Fortunately, one of his family members told him about the Muslim American Social Services (MASS) Clinic, which offers free primary care and specialty services to uninsured Duval County residents of all faiths and ethnicities.
After meeting the clinic’s eligibility criteria, Borisade was seen by one of the more than 30 board-certified specialists who volunteer at MASS. He followed that up by making an appointment with Thomas Snyder, MD, a neurologist with Baptist Neurology Group.
“Dr. Snyder was the one who diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis and got me the medication I needed,” said Borisade, a performance artist who goes by the name Odd?Rod. “I didn’t know something like MASS even existed. I was really impressed.”
Borisade was so impressed that he recently presented MASS with a check for $1,000. The donation is part of the proceeds from Eric’s Life, an annual charity event that honors the memory of Borisade’s older brother who died of brain cancer in 1996.
Borisade donates to a different local charity every year. In 2016, he donated $1,000 to Wolfson Children’s, where his brother was treated.
On hand to accept his latest donation was Faisal Sayed, executive director of MASS and Mobeen Rathore, MD, co-founder of MASS and Chief of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
“I’m not rich, but I still want to give,” said Borisade, a 2001 Raines High honors graduate who received a full scholarship to the University of North Florida through the Delores Pass Kesler Foundation.
“That scholarship changed my life. After graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, I quit my full-time job as a longshoreman and started touring college campuses as a motivational storyteller. I’ve probably been to more than 500 cities across the country.”
When Deborah Pass Durham, who is actively involved with scholarship recipients of the Delores Pass Kesler Foundation, heard about Borisade’s generous donation to MASS, which Baptist supports financially, she was overjoyed.
“It’s nice to see a grateful patient donating to MASS,” said Pass Durham, a member of Baptist Health’s Board of Directors and Social Responsibility and Community Health Committee. “Rod is a dear friend who I met when he graduated from Raines and became one of our scholarship students at UNF. So proud to see him setting the example by paying it forward.”