She may have faced stage III ovarian cancer at one time in
her life, but Gwen Ammos, 51, doesn’t allow herself to dwell in the past. In
fact, she is a marathon runner, an ice hockey player, and a medical volunteer
in Nepal. Learn more about this astonishing woman from Chestnut Hill Local:
Gwenn Amos, 51, a
Renaissance woman who lives in Ambler, somehow finds enough time in the same
24-hour day we all have to cram in numerous passions and skills. Amos, a Doctor
of Optometry who works for The Eye Institute in Chestnut Hill, is also an
assistant professor at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Elkins Park, a
musician (drummer), a marathon runner, a five-year survivor of stage III
ovarian cancer, a public health expert (Master’s degree) who has volunteered
her services in the mountain villages of Nepal, a church volunteer, an ice
hockey team member who has scrimmaged with former players from the Philadelphia
Flyers, and a soon-to-be certified Emergency Medical Technician. It would take
a book to encompass all of her accomplishments, but we will try to condense it
into a two-part series of articles:
Local: Where did you
grow up and attend high school?
Amos: I grew up in
Warminster, Bucks County, and attended William Tennent High School. I have a
B.A. from Temple University in biology.
Local: What made you
want to pursue a career as an optometrist and public health worker?
Amos: I was interested
in pursuing a career in the medical field but didn’t want to be “married” to my
career. My interest in public health developed after participating in several
eye camps in developing nations including Nepal, South Africa and several
countries in South/Central America. Often patients and their families go to
great lengths and may travel for days to attend a screening. Of course they
bring great hope with them. I wanted to learn how to plan and implement
programs whereby our eye camps would make a more significant impact on at least
a fraction of patients we can expect to come with the expectation that they can
be helped to see better via cataract extraction. Additionally, there are many
systemic diseases that have ocular manifestations such as diabetes and
hypertension. So only providing eye screening without having a referral system
in place for treatment of other diseases that are detected during an eye
examination can be somewhat frustrating. (Dr. Amos earned her Masters in Public
Health in 2009 from Arcadia U. in Glenside.)
Local: Why did you go to
Nepal?
Amos: I have been to
several villages in the mountains of Nepal. It is absolutely beautiful there.
From a distance you can see how completely the people have terraced every bit
of the mountain to grow corn and rice. I was there in 2001 and again in 2005,
and we are planning another eye camp for November of this year, or perhaps
spring of next year. These two trips were coordinated by a group called
Pennsylvania United Medical Association (PUMA). Steve Simpson, the founder of
PUMA, has done an amazing job first establishing an orphanage in Kathmandu,
which has since grown to two homes, one for boys and one for girls.
Additionally, he has, with the help of a strong and dedicated crew in Nepal in
conjunction with teams from the U.S., built many health clinics and churches
for people in remote villages. PUMA sends medical personnel to train local
Nepalis in what we would consider basic health care. Did you know that there
are more people in the world with access to cell phones than access to
toothbrushes?
Local: What are
conditions like in Nepal?
Amos: There is no running
water in the villages and no electricity. You don’t need an alarm, especially
if you’re sleeping in the same room with a chicken. He’ll know when to awaken
you! The children just cling to you and don’t want to leave your side. I was
really struck by this on the first trip until someone so clearly explained that
“they don’t have things, but they have each other.” So, I quickly adapted to
traveling with an entourage and tried to think of games we could play where we
didn’t need to speak the same language. There is an amazing maturity among
children of even a very young age. Children at the homes are taught early to
clean up after themselves. At the age of even 3, they wash their own plate and
have chores like sweeping the floors after meal time. There is virtually
no-to-very limited health care in the villages. A trip to Nepal is
approximately two weeks because of the flight time and the hiking time to and
from one or two villages. This would be considered a very short-term trip.
Local: What do you do in
your leisure time, if you have any?
Amos: Right now I don’t
have much leisure time at all. I’m really quite a bore about studying and
practicing for EMT (her Emergency Medical Technician certification). It’s
important for me to attend church, and I volunteer in the audio/visual
department. Walking and running are always good for helping get problems worked
out in one’s mind and are healthy for the body. I enjoy both as well as gardening.
Drum lessons are on hold right now, which I’m sure pleases the neighbors. In
April of 2012 I completed the Gettysburg North-South Marathon, and next month
will be the five-year anniversary of being diagnosed with stage III ovarian
cancer. As the Bible says, life is like a vapor. Anytime we have an opportunity
to be the hands or feet of the Lord to others, that is our service to Him.
For more information
about Dr. Amos, email gamos@salus.edu or call 215-276-6158.
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