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Show p p v v r r r r r f r r r r r w p vrrrrwrrfi ' 1 1 The Park Record D Section C Thursday, December 7, 1995 D Paee C7 Thursday, December 7, 1995 D Page C7 Park City doctor Robert Briggs makes service key part of his practice by ADAM ELGGREN ' the cornea) is the leading cause of from since. r -- " 3 Record staff writer MinHnncc in Ilia ,A u.,t : r. tl. : ..,., A I ' , . 1 Record staff writer On a dusty street in San Salvador, El Salvador, the line of patients stretched out the door and far down the block. The American doctors wouldn't be in town for long, and this was likely to be the one chance for these people to ever see normally again. Dr. Robert Briggs, a Park City optometrist, was one of the American volunteers on the week-long medical mission. He noticed one woman, who looked to be in her mid-30's, had been left by her husband to navigate the line alone, and she was almost completely blind. Cataracts had covered the lenses of her eyes at the age of four, forming an opaque curtain that hadn't ever been drawn. Several hours and one brief surgical session later, she saw clearly for the first time that she could remember. "Oh! I can see! And I can see the writing on the wall," one surgeon sur-geon recalled her saying. Briggs was able to help the worfian because of the Spanish he learned for a Mormon mission to Columbia and Venezuela. Fortunately, some things stay with you. Like the missionary spirit. That trip to El Salvador took place in March, and Briggs had been once before in 1993. He is now getting ready to go on a fourth volunteer mission south of the border in February, this one to a small Mexican town near Guadalajara. "It's important work, and it's also a little bit of clinical indulgence," indul-gence," said Briggs. He and the other eye doctors who will make the trip to Mexico are paying their own way. "(But) we'll get to treat a lot of conditions that we rarely see here in the states." People in developing countries often suffer their entire lives from diseases and eye conditions which would be immediately corrected in the U.S., said Briggs. For example, trachoma (a viral condition condi-tion where tissue can spread over blindness in the world, but is seldom sel-dom allowed to progress that far in developed countries. Briggs considers these trips south of the border unique opportunities oppor-tunities for both doctor and patient. Even though no money changes hands, it is a reciprocal relationship. The patients, of course, receive the gift of clear sight, whether they require surgery or simply a pair of eyeglasses. eye-glasses. The doctors get some valuable experience; but more importantly, they are allowed to dramatically change people's lives for the better. But the work is not easy. Briggs said four or five physicians physi-cians might see as many as 2,000 Park City Profile patients during the week that these trips usually last. On this voyage, an informal but well-organized well-organized group of Utah Optometric Association doctors (the El Salvador excursions involved physicians from different differ-ent parts of the country) and their friends and family members, will make the trip to little Magdalena, Mexico. They will bring their own equipment, for the most part, and the only help they'll get "in the field" will be in organizing and translating, said Briggs. Briggs may have an advantage over the other volunteers, because of his previous experience traveling travel-ing south of the border on his Mormon mission. Although centered cen-tered on urban Bogota, Columbia before it became a hotbed of narcotics trafficking Briggs' mission often required him and a companion to travel to rural areas of Columbia and Venezuela. The mission begins for most young men at 19 years of age. It required Briggs, like most Mormon missionaries, to travel many miles on foot, in order to reach potential converts to the church. It also began him on a path of work in the service of others oth-ers that he has not often wandered The mission interrupted Briggs' studies at the University of Utah, and when he began them again, he had doubts about what he wanted to major in, Briggs' career path became convoluted; it led him to a bachelor's degree in psychology, active-duty training in the Army, acceptance at the U of U Business School (which he never attended), dental school in Oregon (never began classes), two quarters of study at pharmacy school, and finally to the Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton. Of dentistry and pharmacy, Briggs said, "Maybe I could have liked doing either one." But it wasn't to be. In Oregon, just before class es were to begin in dental den-tal school, Briggs was invited by a local practitioner practi-tioner to sit in on some sessions. "He could tell that I hadn't really thought through my decision to be a dentist," said Briggs. "I went to his office and thought, 'No!' This is not what I want to do." Briggs later visited an optometrist's office, where something some-thing in the air (perhaps the relative rela-tive lack of pain, blood, and tooth dust) made him consider that field over dentistry. "I thought, this would be a good thing to do, if I got accepted (to optometry school)," said Briggs. Only he wasn't too sure about his chances for acceptance, which led him to apply to, and eventually eventual-ly take an opening at, a pharmacy school just in case. By the time he was accepted to optometry school in Fullerton, he had two traveling partners: a wife and daughter. Briggs married Julie Evans, also from Utah, in 1973, and shortly after, daughter Melissa was born. Briggs described starting start-ing anew in Southern California with a wife and baby daughter as, "fun, and a real adventure." After graduation from school in California, the Briggs had to choose a place to live where Robert could set up practice. They actually had Park City in JawrA' cow r ro re MAiw erizeer ma fj y ; SANrA will ee locotgv ev 1 ' dANDY dANJDY ON TUG iST FLOO& eveev CAruePAv iw heceveez ft 1 FOM 1-4 3 M::-Lf r 3 j - ' m TTT.r'Tf f ' 1, 1 t At i-i I U hup' II' t . Lii ' l A mtft W32d Park City optometrist Robert Briggs has his sights set on helping those in need, in this country and south of the border. mind when one of the active in the Mormon Church, and optometrists teaching in Fullerton it is apparent from his conversa- recommended the town. Even though, Briggs says, it takes a population between 11,000 and 13,000 to support an optometrist (which Park City fell well short of), the doctor thought it would be a good place to grow a business. Briggs' was the first optometry practice in Park City. Today, Briggs lives in Jeremy Ranch with wife Julie, daughters Melissa, 20, Emily, 19, Kirsten, 11, Breanne, 6, and sons Jed, 15 and Tyler, 13. He is still Several hours and one brief surgical session later, she saw clearly for the first time that she could remem-ber."Oh! remem-ber."Oh! I can see! And I can see the writing on the wall' one surgeon recalled her saying. tion with a young man in Briggs' Prospector Square office that he still considers himself something some-thing of a missionary the service, and caring, are in his blood. There are a couple of other eye doctors doc-tors in town, now. and Briggs says the business is "still a struggle. ; Things have gotten better the last few years, but you still wonder, 'Geez. am I going to have enough money to pay the bills at the end of the month?" But despite the competition in the field, Briggs says he won't stop volunteering his time and efforts doing work for the underprivileged. under-privileged. Melissa and Emily helped him examine patients and distribute eyeglasses on the two trips to El Salvador, and Jed is accompanying him to Mexico as part of a Boy Scout project. Briggs says he wants to continue on this particular path of service until he has "run through all the kids." And it may be 10 years before Breanne can follow her Daddy down that path. Robert and Jed Briggs are collecting col-lecting eyeglasses for distribution to the people of Magdalena, Mexico. If you have spare eyeglasses, eye-glasses, especially those for children chil-dren and for reading, and they are in good condition, you can donate them at the Park City Vision Center, 1920 Prospector Ave. $40.00 Construction Special Non-members Receive a 1-Hour Massage or Facial Plus a Da; Pass At P rospector Athletic Club Wfk A $15.00 Value At No Charge I A Day Spa For Members & Non-members VV. '. . ' ..:. iV V'-' . .. 'a a A -vet . Silver Mountain Spa is an exciting and beautiful new dadestination spa opening at the Prospector Athletic Club in Park City. During our construction phase we will be offering a $40.00 special for any one-hour one-hour body treatment including Swedish, Sports and Lymphatic Massage, deep-' pore cleansing facials, and Seaweed Body Wraps (regularly $55.). Our new one-hour "get-aways" are a great de-stressor. You will love our tranquil cloud rooms. I jfjft TheOfficialTraining&nteroftKeUS.SldTeam 801-655-8484 2080 Gold Dust Lane, Park City, UT 1 0umm.m mmm.-0, -" |