Dr. Michael Peavey has operated on plenty of patients during his 19 years at King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven. But he has also stitched up folks in Honduras.

Peavey, a general surgeon at KDMC, travels with a group of medical professionals to Guaimaca, Honduras, each year to administer medical care to people who cannot afford it. The trips are also a good opportunity for Peavey and the team to share the message of Christ.

“I already miss it,” Peavey said after returning from  Honduras last year. “I never met anyone that went on a mission trip and regretted it.”

Peavey said he enjoys helping others. “That’s just the way God made me,” he said.

The team hosts fundraisers throughout the year; traveling with a large team is expensive.

Peavey has five children: Tristan who is 22 years old, Rebecca is 19, Nathan is 17, Abigail is 15, and Elliot is 8.

He said he chose general surgery because he loved human anatomy in college, and he also loves to see people heal quickly.

He’s a true Brookhavenite. He is from here, lives here and his only time away was college and medical school. Peavey attends Faith Presbyterian Church, and has for almost 30 years. He is a 1986 Brookhaven High School graduate, a 1990 Mississippi State University graduate and a 1994 UMC graduate.

His activities and hobbies include hunting, fishing, spending time with his family and wood-working.

“I love wood-working because I love making things with my hands,” he said.

His favorite food is grilled steak, with all the trimmings.

“I am all for eating a steak from anyone who knows what they are doing,” he said.

Something few people know about the doctor is that he studied abroad for medical school at the Royal Infirmary in Scotland.

“I wanted to see socialized medicine practice, and understand better the culture,” he said.

If Peavey could have a super power he would want to have a supernatural empathy for others, he said. One of his greatest professional achievements is becoming a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Story by Sarah Elizabeth Balkcom