Ruth Williams Gieser, MD

President, Wheaton Eye Clinic, Past President, AAO, Board Member of Glaucoma Research Foundation

CPMC provided a superb foundation in ophthalmology. I trained in the late 1980s when the AIDS epidemic was still unfolding. In retrospect, it was an extraordinary privilege to be training in San Francisco during those years and I continue to be shaped by clinical and personal experiences. Similarly, I expect that the CPMC residents will look back on these COVID years as an incredibly special kind of training.

Perhaps most importantly, the years at CPMC provided such great colleague-friends. I value these relationships more over time. I love meeting with my former co-residents for dinner or a hike, the same two activities we shared back then. Earlier this year, I was so happy to see Gayle Shimokaji, Ngoc Nguyen, and Donna Lee at a meeting. Some of you I see occasionally, but the bonds run deeper than expected. Recently, David Heiden spoke about the laudable values of our Millennial children and I repeated his comments to my young adult son.

Some of you were once my teachers, but now you are treasured friends. Susan Day and I talk about music and how to live a good life (they are related). Bob Stamper exudes wisdom and wry humor, but it is his grit I appreciate most. He broke his leg skiing and took BART with the scooter to still show up at AGS. Bruce Spivey even cajoled me into calling him Bruce instead of Dr. Spivey and I continue to learn from him. My husband keeps a bookmark from Chita Abbott’s funeral above his desk and I see her picture every time I walk in the room, reminding me of our multi-decade friendship with Chita and Rich.