Team effort inspires book published

That these two men, KD Gilbert and Carter Johnson, met in the first place is a tribute to good fortune and the gift of being in the right place at the right time.

In their case, the right place happened to be UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central. KD, a jack-of-all trades facilities technician, had been on the job three years when he met Carter, 20, an intern with Project SEARCH, a program to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn work-related skills.

That the two would end up being the subjects of a book called “We Can Do It!,’’ available on Amazon, is even more of a twist. But that’s what happened.

KD spends hours each day hopscotching from job to job, whether it be to paint, clear a drain, hang light fixtures or make sure the dozens of eye wash stations located throughout the hospital are in tip-top shape. For a few months this year, KD’s co-worker was a young man he called “CJ.’’

“So, basically, he shadows me, and I show him exactly what I am doing,’’ KD said. “So wherever I’m going, he’s going. For instance, to the eye wash stations.’’

It takes about five hours to check all the eye wash stations and make sure the water temperature is between 60 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. After demonstrating the task by using a thermometer, then logging the temperature into an official record and initialing the entry, KD handed the task to Carter, supervising every step.

“So Carter would do temperatures with the thermometer and then he would log it in,’’ KD said. “That was one of the things he did … so he would shadow me, and he interacted with other people,’’ Gilbert said.

Carter thrived in the role and appreciated KD.

“I liked how kind he was,’’ Carter said. “I like doing the eye wash stations, and working with him was really fun.’’

Always, no matter the task at hand, KD would reassure Carter and let him know that, in the hospital, there is always someone who can get the job done.

“I would tell him on a daily basis, ‘Carter, we can do it. As a team, we can do it and that’s the way it is here. If I can’t do it, there’s another guy, a tech or HVAC, electrician or a plumber who can do it.’ It was just that idea that this is a team effort here at this hospital, it’s always a team effort.’’

During their shifts, KD and Carter got to know a little bit about each other. KD mentioned that he is a husband, father, a musician who writes spiritual rap songs, plays video games and has published seven books.

When KD told Carter about the books, Carter mentioned that he liked to read and had a website. He showed KD a cartoon that he has on the site.

“And I was like, ‘Hey, look at you.’ Carter said he always wanted to have a book published, and I said, ‘We can do it!’ That became the name of their forthcoming book.

“Carter was like, ‘You serious?’ And he was so excited and said, ‘We’re really going to do a book?’’’

When KD mentioned how much it costs to do a book, Carter told his mentor that he could not afford the cost.

“Don’t worry,’’ KD told him, “I can do it.’’

For six weeks, the two talked and formulated ideas. KD then wrote a draft and hired illustrators who drew caricatures of the duo. Their likenesses are on the cover of the book.

“Carter has a lot of friends, and when I started writing the book, Carter would call me up and say, ‘Can I have my friend Mark in the book?’ Sure, Carter, I’ll put him in. Then he’d call me two days later: ‘So KD, can we put Will in there?’ And then he would call me and say, ‘Is it too late to add …? All right Carter, one more.’’’

KD used a rhyming cadence in the book to chronicle his time making the rounds with a young man named Carter, who ended up being a very good co-worker for KD.

“That was really fun. I really enjoyed it,’’ Carter said of his time with KD.

Their book, “We Can Do It!’’ is available here.