WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Hometown Hero: Dr. Judith Piros
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By Mike Manhatton - email
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Get ready for the "eeeew" factor. Twana Crawford is an ophthalmic Technician, today helping ophthalmologist, Dr. Judith Piros. "She's disecting pig eyes at Pooler Elementary School."
Dr. Piros spends most of her days, busy like any other ophthalmologist. Seeing patients, doing surgery, but treasures her time in the classroom, with the kids. "A lot of them came in with attitudes that this was going to be gross, and terrible, and they all go out with gosh this was great, this was the best thing we've done. So and that to me is important. It's great for me."
They're obviously learning about eyes from Dr. Piros. "We give an idea of how the eye works, we go over a little bit of eyeball anatomy, and when we do the dissection we try to identify the individual structures and things as we come across them. And also really just to give them a feel for what it's like to handle real tissue."
But Dr. Piros is teaching bigger lessons as well. "I do want them to get the take home message that studying is good, that working hard is good, and if we can just engender any kind of interest at an early age I think it'll go very very far, and I'd like to go as far with that as I possibly could."
She goes so much farther. Active with the American Diabetes Association and Kiss-A-Pig competition, the year she was a candidate to pucker up, she raised more money than any other competitor, not just in the county, but in the whole country.
Her staff gets very emotional when they remember the way she's changed lives. Angela Hodges manages the office, and nearly came to tears remembering one kindkess. "Her heart is so huge, she goes over and above, everything. She did cataract surgery for a homeless man."
That's Dr. Piros goal. "Basically to give patients their vision back. It makes them happy, we can save their sight, and really, adjust and alter their quality of life."
Hodges sums it all up. "She is an absolutely amazing person, and she's my hero."
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