Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Ivan Edwards. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dr. Ivan, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
What did my parents do right? My story, a synopsis of the American dream
My parents have had a significant role in my life. My father, the late Teddy Edwards, was a man who never believed in defeat. Whenever he fell to the ground, proverbially, he got up on his feet and kept walking. Nothing kept him on the ground for long. Nothing. My mother, Ludmilla, cultivated in me a deep passion and love for people. Above all, she taught me to speak – and helped me overcome my stuttering.
Born to European fathers (who were early settlers in Africa) and Ugandan women, my biracial parents grew up at a critical time when the country (Uganda, my country of birth) was reeling from colonialism to independence.
My father started drinking early on, causing a burdensome strain on the family. He arrived at a point he had to do something about it. He used his personal faith and changed course, dealing the disease with a knockout punch. He lived to be sober all his life, a man wonderfully dedicated to his wife, family, and community.
However, under the tyranny of Idi Amin, Dad was falsely imprisoned, tortured with the loss of vision in one eye, and sent to prison (under imminent threat of execution). But with the help of an influential friend, he was freed. From the time he was released to the day he died (as a free man), Dad lived a life of victory – never ever giving in to defeat and pessimism. Not even bitterness and pain, from the venom of injustice, could deter him to “get up and walk.”
My father’s life exemplified pertinacity. He taught me never to give up. His vibrant words still send chills up my spine.
“Set your mind,” he would say, “on a goal and go for it. Discard what people think of you or say about you. It doesn’t matter. You live your dream, your aspirations…and when you fall, get up, walk and do it again and again. Do not ever give up.”
That is what my Dad did right: he passed onto me that same mindset of sheer determination – the pertinacity to keep going and NEVER to give up despite what life throws at me.
Meanwhile, my mother cultivated in me passion and love for people.
Mom opened our home to people, some of whom we were not even related to. Our home was an oasis that provided warmth and a place of solace to many people. Only Mom could do that right.
Her love for people and the passion with which she engages people from all walks of life to this day, is what inspired me to live a life dedicated to service for others. From being a minister, a medical doctor and an officer in the military – that cadre of love and service for others has been with me all along.
Above all, Mom helped me overcome my stuttering, an impediment that had crushed my self-esteem and for which I was teased, made fun of, and bullied at school. She played the role of a speech therapist, spending hours with me and teaching me how to speak well. I don’t know how she did it. My speech cleared by the time I was 18.
I immigrated to the USA to find and live the American life, a path that many immigrants before me have embarked on.
On the long path of becoming a medical doctor, I had some doubts – like anyone else would likely have at any given time. But my father’s words reverberated back at me. A doctor friend (I shared my story with then) also chimed in once to remind me,” Keep walking on as your father told you. And let your mother’s passion for people fuel you.”
It worked out. I became a doctor and have been one for quite some time. I opened two businesses and still run a successful practice. I prospered. Then, I became a flight surgeon, and a local and international speaker.
I look back and marvel. From the humble beginnings of that low esteemed child with a speech impediment to that now of a medical doctor, a senior Air force officer, a humanitarian, a successful entrepreneur, and a speaker – the path to success was not a solo driven path. My parents had a part to play in all of this.
What did my parents do right? They imbued within me the qualities of determination, faith, love, and service for others, including the triumph of overcoming a speech impediment that had trapped me. Without their contribution, I wouldn’t have been successful.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Dr. Ivan Edwards is a renowned physician, board certified in the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is the CEO and Founder of Jovana Rehabilitation Medicine & Pain, a company/practice he founded.
He first served in ministry as an ordained pastor.
He has participated (as he still does) in various local and international community outreaches.
He received his bachelor’s degree (cum laude) at Rivier University in Nashua, NH. He completed medical school at Midwestern University, in Arizona, and a subsequent internal medicine internship at Eastern Virginia Medical School, followed by a three-year residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the UT Health Science Center, in San Antonio. He thereafter received a direct commission into the US military and completed further training as a flight surgeon at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine.
Dr. Edwards has expertise in musculoskeletal medicine and comprehensive pain management. The patients he sees have had trauma and injuries of all kinds. Some are post stroke and brain injury patients. Most have painful and debilitating conditions of various types. He places them on a path of rehabilitation and pain management that permits them to regain their functionality and lives. He promotes a holistic approach to medical care, encompassing the acronym M.E.D.S., viz medications (that one absolutely needs to take), meditation (to create balance in one’s life), exercise (at least 20 -30 minutes, 3 days a week), diet (non-inflammatory), and sleep (with a need to de-Stress).
As CEO/owner of JOVANA Rehabilitation Medicine & Pain, Dr. Edwards works as a consulting physician in numerous San Antonio facilities – where he gets to see the patients in an inpatient setting.
He is a Flight Surgeon, in the USAF Reserve, at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He once worked as the Health and Wellness physician for the San Antonio Fire Department.
Dr. Edwards sits on multiple board committees. He has national and international ties and has participated in various humanitarian initiatives, e.g., resilience, childhood education, neurorehabilitation, pain, PTSD and COVID-19.
Dr. Edwards holds memberships in multiple organizations, namely: the Aerospace Medical Association, the Military Officers Association of America, and the Society of USAF Flight Surgeons.
He is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and of the of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Dr. Edwards is also a commissioned Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky – in recognition of his outstanding service to the community and nation.
Dr. Edwards is a gifted public speaker. He has traveled extensively worldwide and spoken on topics related to health, resilience, and personal growth. He has also spoken on other topics regarding the human condition.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One, being a true, compassionate and caring human matters in my profession. I have true and genuine concern for my patients and to give them the best care possible. I strive to put myself in their shoes. I have true empathy. I CARE for them. They are not numbers. They are people. I know them. They see it, they feel it. One cannot fake it. Some doctors have lost their care and compassion. They have become robotic and their care looks like AI driven data bits.
Secondly, the element that empowers you matters. My patients–and not my colleagues (as much as I care for them too)–are my element of focus. I am attuned to them, not to Wall Street, the AMA or to insurance companies. My patients are who empower me.
Thirdly, my profession, to me, is NOT a job. It is a calling and I thoroughly enjoy what I do. It is not work for me to see my patients. It is an extension of me, deep from my heart connecting with them – heart to heart. This is a s service that only comes from within one’s being.
These three aspects are what has built my reputation within the market.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
A book by Dale Carnegie, entitled, “How To Win Friends and Influence People, ” a book I have read about 3 times, is one I highly recommend. The book is one I have used to build my broad social network system in which my business operates.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://drivanedwards.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivan.edwards1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ivan-edwards-faapmr-frsa-327a4223/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrIvanEdwards1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erlUsM2eLQs
- Other: https://speakerhub.com/speaker/dr-ivan-edwards-faapmr-frsa https://www.facebook.com/DrIvanEdwards https://drivanedwardsfaapmr.com/ https://www.findatopdoc.com/doctor/3480007-Ivan-Edwards-Physiatrist-Physical-Medicine