Coronavirus: Bay Area family finds relief through social media movement 'RV's 4 MDs'

ByAmanda del Castillo KGO logo

Friday, April 10, 2020

Coronavirus: Bay Area family finds relief through social media movement 'RV's 4 MDs'

The Facebook group matches people with complete strangers who have RV to loan to a health care worker needing to isolate from their family. For one Bay Area family, the trailer is parked in their driveway, adding an extra layer of safety between a doctor and his family.

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- Encouraging development in a story ABC7 News first brought you on Tuesday, the social media movement, "RV's 4 MD's" is keeping a Bay Area doctor on the front line, in his driveway.

Dr. Brad St. Martin is distancing to keep his family safe. On Thursday night, instead of staying at a hotel, St. Martin is only a few feet from home.

Parked in the family's driveway is the Poleselli family trailer.

It's used for open roads and grand adventures, but it's making a unique stop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trailer will remain parked outside the St. Martin's home, providing a layer of safety for the people inside.

We introduced you to the St. Martin family on Tuesday -- Wife, Megan, husband, Brad and their three young sons.

Brad is also a doctor on the front line.

"Thankfully, I'm healthy right now," he told ABC7 News. "But I just don't want to put my family at risk of anything."

Simply returning home from work could be a hazard.

It's this specific concern that forced a Texas woman to take to social media.

Two weeks ago, Emily Phillips asked her Facebook friends whether anyone had an RV to loan.

She was searching for isolation for her husband, who is working as an emergency room doctor.

"I was terrified," Phillips said. "Everybody is quarantined and I'm terrified to be in our own house."

Her request was answered by a woman named Holly Haggard, a complete stranger.

Now, the two are co-founders of the Facebook group "RV's 4 MD's."

"We started sharing the page," Haggard described. "Overnight there was probably 50 people that joined, and then there was 100, and then there was 300... and then it jumped to 600."

More than 24,000 people have joined the group since it started, and more than 300 matches have been made.

Phillips admits the help has provided some relief, the distance is still tough.

"I mean, especially with a six-month old baby. You know, he's missing some pretty big milestones. So that's tough," she told ABC7 News.

Both Phillips, Haggard and a team of volunteers are connecting RV donors with front line heroes who are desperate to keep their families safe.

Back in the Bay Area, for the St. Martin's, it's the Poleselli's

"You always want to keep family close and together, especially during a time like this," Michael Poleselli said. "So, it's really nice that they can be right here next to each other."

The effort comes at no cost to the family in need.

"These are people that are literally handing their keys over to a complete stranger," co-founder Haggard explained. "And they're having faith in what's going to happen."

Linda Poleselli added, "It's something small that we can do for this family who is doing so much for everybody else."

At the St. Martin's on Thursday, there was lots of relief with one little road bump.

"I think it's going to be difficult to make sure that I'm the one staying in there, and we keep the boys out of there," Brad said.

Megan continued, "They said they would rather have daddy inside the house and them in the RV."

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