Practitioner credits the sport with helping him excel in ophthalmology.
When Kenneth W. Wright, M.D., began to surf at age 14 he had no idea that years later surfing would help his career as an ophthalmologist. Dr. Wright, director of pediatric ophthalmology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, credits the relaxation surfing brings him — by clearing his mind of everything but the actual task at hand — with helping him concentrate more fully and excel at ophthalmology. “You’re not thinking about work or family problems, you’re thinking about the waves, so it’s just really an escape, more so than most any other sport,” he said. “As you know, in surfing you are totally in tune with the water, and then there’s the beauty of the ocean.” Dr. Wright finds surfing so beneficial that he has taken advantage of opportunities throughout the world, even where some might think it’s impossible.
When he moved from Southern California to Cleveland, he tried to incorporate surfing into his routine after a patient told him people surf the Great Lakes. Alas, he was disappointed. “I tried to surf in Cleveland, but it didn’t work out – still despite the poor surf, the Cleveland Clinic was a great place to practice ophthalmology,” he said. After three years away from the Southern California area, Dr. Wright returned to Los Angeles, where he could surf as much as he liked — at least once a week.
A World Apart
Dr. Wright’s career has given him the opportunity to travel throughout the world on humanitarian missions. He’s worked surfing into a regimen whenever possible. One such time was a recent mission to Panama, where he treated children with eye muscle problems and ptosis. With their mission complete, Dr. Wright went on a three-day surf trip with local ophthalmologists lead by Ernestro Calvo, M.D., to a remote part of Panama. “We went to this secret island, and it was just us, our group, it was absolutely epic,” he said. “Head-high waves, perfect rights, it was beautiful.”
During another trip, he visited Tahiti with his good friend Malcolm Ing, M.D., — preeminent Hawaiian surfer and pediatric ophthalmologist. Tahiti has world-class waves but also razor sharp reef, Dr. Wright said. “I always tell myself that I should go for it rather than sitting on the sidelines,” said Dr. Wright. “I think that attitude has helped me with my career by encouraging me to stretch and go beyond the usual limits.”
All weather is surfing weather. “What’s nice about surfing is that I can go early in the morning, before clinic,” he said. “I can get out there at 6 a.m. and spend some time out in the water. Just one hour of surfing totally relaxes you for the rest of the week. Surfing is great rain or shine – it really doesn’t matter – you are going to get wet anyway.” That inner calm stays with Dr. Wright as he works in his practice. When gigantic waves crash on top of him when surfing, he said, it’s best to stay calm and not panic. The same calming technique he learned surfing is also useful in the operating room. “There are few times in your career when you have to reach deep down to keep your cool, and that’s the same feeling I get when I surf,” he said.
Passing the Torch
Although he has met his biggest goals in surfing, Dr. Wright said, his surfing career is not quite over.
He delights that he can surf with his sons Jamie, Matt, Mike, and Andrew, and feels he has accomplished one surfing goal by teaching his sons to surf. He relishes that they are enthusiastic about the sport. “When the boys were young, I would drag them into big scary surf and they would cry that I was trying to kill them. Now they drag me into the big surf and I am the one crying,” he said. “Payback is tough.”
“Surfing rekindles a spark in me that keeps me going. There will be a time to retire from surfing, but it’s not now.”
