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Giving Back Sight & More
by Carolyn Woodall
Dr. Garth Taylor firmly believes in giving back to the community, particularly the global community. As Chief of Ophthalmology at Cornwall General Hospital and an avid volunteer, Dr. Taylor has dedicated his time to gifting the world with sight.
“Ophthalmology was poorly taught at my university so I decided to read more on the subject. The more I read the more I realized how fascinating and involved ophthalmology is and how integrated the eye is to the rest of the body.” This personal interest soon became the focus of his studies. Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, functions, pathology, and treatment of the eye.
As a child in Jamaica, Dr. Taylor, and his siblings helped his father, a Master Baker, in the family business before and after school. “I had to assist my parents in making fruit cakes especially at Christmas time and for weddings. I saw this as a lucrative business because I was able to ‘siphon’ some of the orders and fill them myself; in order to make some pocket money. I realized that my product must be good because the customers could not tell the difference.” Later in his life Dr. Taylor used these same skills to raise funds to purchase textbooks and airplane tickets to Jamaica.
Over the years Dr. Taylor created a new tradition; cakes for special occasions such as his children’s birthdays or weddings. And at Christmas each hospital department receives a cake, compliments of the Chief of Baking. For Dr. Taylor baking takes the place of golf. “Golf is out. The finished product, baking cakes is like a masterpiece to me, giving me some peace of mind and satisfaction. The end of a golf game is total grief. No satisfaction there.”
But baking isn’t the only thing that brings satisfaction for Dr. Garth Taylor. Close to his heart is the memory of being chosen to raise the Jamaican Flag to celebrate Jamaica’s first Independence Day on August 6, 1962. “I must admit that I was scared that I might “mess up”; trip and fall, drop the flag or raise it upside down. I didn’t sleep well the night before.” It was a momentous day in the life of a child who would grow-up to be leading figure in his community.
In addition to his role as Chief of Ophthalmology at Cornwall General Hospital and self-appointed duties as Chief of Baking, Dr. Garth Taylor also volunteers with ORBIS Canada and Canadian Surgical Eye Expeditions (CANSEE). He is currently the Vice-President of ORBIS Canada an organization that teaches eye care and surgery throughout the world. “My responsibilities are to ensure that the highest standard of ophthalmology is practiced and patient care is not jeopardized,” he says. To this end Dr. Taylor has participated in over 100 teaching and surgical missions world-wide. ORBIS utilizes a DC-10 airplane remodeled and equipped to be a mobile teaching hospital.
Co-founder and a Director with CANSEE Dr. Taylor travels internationally with a team of Canadian medical personnel performing eye surgeries in developing countries. “We have so far performed over 3,000 surgical procedures.” CANSEE is also gaining a reputation as a good organization, where young students can volunteer on their way to becoming ophthalmologists.
Dr. Taylor also has some words of wisdom for youth today. “Make sure you have a dream and pursue it. Most times this is difficult but perseverance is always the key to success. Just don’t have an idea---make it happen. I consider myself a very lucky person because the harder I work the luckier I get. ‘It is not how many ideas you have, it’s how many you make happen’.”
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