Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
EDUCATORS TACIOUS Golding and Enid Lousie Bent Golding, the parents of Radiologist Dr. Trevor Golding, who named him 'Trevor Newton Depass' after Sir Isaac Newton, would have been proud to see the recognition accorded to their son recently by the Medical Association of Jamaica.
At the event in May, 2005, his citation referred to him as a "true scientist and stated that the country had benefited significantly from his exemplary professional expertise and work ethic" since his return from the United States in 1983. Dr. Golding was awarded for his contribution to medical knowledge and practice in Jamaica, especially in the field of advanced Medical Imaging.
"My mother and father certainly were role models. They always strove for excellence in life and work and they instilled that in us," said the radiologist, whose siblings include Bruce Golding, current leader of the Opposition and of the Jamaica Labour Party.
His father, Tacious Golding was a headmaster, member of the House of Representatives and a former Speaker of the House and is described by Trevor as a brilliant educator and politician.
Mother Enid Bent-Golding taught at Alpha, St. Andrew High School for girls and was principal of Old Harbour Secondary School before retiring. She authored the books Geography of the West Indies and History of the West Indies along with Rupert Bent, two texts which thousands of expertise and work ethic" since his return from the United States in 1983. Dr. Golding was awarded for his contribution to medical knowledge and practice in Jamaica, especially in the field of advanced medical imaging.
"My mother and father certainly were role models. They always strove for excellence in life and work and they instilled that in us," said the radiologist, whose siblings include Bruce Golding, current leader of the Opposition of the Jamaica Labour Party.
His father, Tacious Golding was a headmaster, member of the House of Representatives and a former Speaker of the House and is described by Trevor as a brilliant educator and politician.
Mother Enid Bent-Golding taught at Alpha, St. Andrew High School for girls and was principal of Old Harbour Secondary School before retiring. She authored the books Geography of the West Indies and History of the West Indies along with Rupert Bent, two texts which thousands of Jamaicans will remember using in the school system for many years.
Recognition
Dr. Trevor Golding told Outlook, "When they were reading the citation I reflected that my mother has never received the recognition she deserved."
Typically, his thoughts are always of others, even when the spotlight is centred on him.
His son Dr. Corey Golding describes Trevor Golding as totally committed to family and to his patients. He is, he said, " a tremendous father, very supportive, very loving and caring. He has been very hard working, setting the tone for us in terms of striving for the best. I especially admire the way in which he gives 100 per cent to his patients."
Dr. Trevor Golding spent the first nine years of his life in deep rural St. Catherine where his parents owned two properties. He and his brothers would roam the acres collecting rat cut coffee which they would then dry on a barbecue and sell to buyers, thereby making themselves some pocket money.
But their parents made it clear that education was what was really important in life and sent their sons off to boarding school.
At nine years and two weeks old, Trevor went to Jamaica College where he says he benefited from mixing with boys from all walk of life, and also from the privilege of not having his parents around.
"I had to learn to defend myself, otherwise I would be dead by the time the telegram arrived," he quips.
He also made lifelong friendships. At Jamaica College he was also influenced by headmaster Hugo Chambers "because he was always calm and dealt with situations in a reasoned way. He was not quick to make judgments".
Dr. Trevor Golding, now looking back, states that he was influenced, as well, by many of his peers who have been very successful. These include Patrick Robinson who is now a Judge at the Hague and sits on the panel which is trying Slobodan Melisovich for war crimes. Another of his contemporaries is Dr. Ren Holness who is a neurosurgeon in Canada.
"My brothers were also a source of inspiration. They looked up to me as the older one. I felt as if I had to achieve because I did not want to let them down," Dr. Golding also says.
There was always his parents, too, who made it clear that they expected no less of him than qualification as a doctor. Legend has it that when Trevor was born in rural St. Catherine on December 17, 1944, his father took one look at his first born son and remarked to his wife "Louise! This boy has to become a doctor, and if he refuses, we will just have to eliminate him, retire to the bedroom and reproduce him."
Placed first
Trevor placed first in the parish of St. Catherine in the Government Scholarship Examination and so entered Jamaica College on a Code Scholarship at age nine. At age 16 when he passed the Higher School Certificate examination for the second time, he was ruled ineligible for the Jamaica Scholarship because he was not yet 17.
Trevor's academic brilliance continued at the University of the West Indies which he entered in 1962 on a Government Exhibition Scholarship, and where he excelled in medicine On graduation from the University of the West Indies, Trevor Golding headed for Howard University in the United States in 1971 and first did a year of general surgery residency.
He thought he wanted to be a surgeon he said, until he realised that the pursuit left him with almost no time for his infant son who was born in 1972.Trevor Golding decided to switch to radiology as an occupation which would leave him time for family and one which was also quite interesting too.
"I realised that the radiologist was the doctor's doctor," he said, in terms of providing support for diagnoses. He was also fascinated by the technology.
He switched to Radiology in 1972 and became a Diplomate of the American Board of Radiology in 1975. Along the way, he rotated in Nuclear Medicine at Bethesda Naval Hospital and studied Ultrasound under the famous Dr. George Leopold at The University of California, San Diego.
The radiologist in 1998, also studied Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) under the tutelage of the internationally known Dr. Thomas Naidich at Miami Baptist Hospital and maintains a close working relationship with that fine institution.
While in the United States, a faculty position at Howard University in 1975 paved the way for private practice in Norfolk, Virginia.
Racism
Destiny was at work, the radiologist tells Outlook, as he could have gone to New York or remained in Washington DC where he would have been comfortable with so many expatriate Jamaicans and Caribbean citizens around. However, he chose North Virginia where the racism to which his sons were subjected drove him back home to Jamaica.
"I started thinking that I did not want to raise my sons in a racist society. Despite all its problems, Jamaica does not have this one. Going to school there would also boost their self confidence and make them feel important."
So it was that in 1983 he returned to Jamaica and joined the Government Service with responsibility for Radiology at Mandeville Hospital and Spanish Town Hospital.
Dr. Trevor Golding became the first radiologist to introduce Ultrasound to rural Jamaica with offices in Mandeville, Spanish Town, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
In 1986 he also joined with Eureka Medical Limited in launching the first CT scanner in Jamaica and a decade later was the co-founder and driving force behind the establishment of Kingston Radiology and Imaging Services Ltd. In 1998 he also launched l MRI Services at St. Joseph's Hospital where he also recently installed a CT scanner .
His partner in all of this was wife Shirley on whom he depends for almost everything and without which his achievements would have been much less.
The couple were married in 1970 and are parents of Trevor II, Attorney-at-Law, and Corey, Chief Resident in Radiology, both residing in the United States.
Trevor Golding II, the lawyer, told Outlook, "he (Dr. Trevor Golding) has been a very good father, strict at some times but also fun-loving and it is clear that he lives vicariously through his sons. He is cheering us on to our successes and hurts during our failures.
I enjoy time alone with him. I work as hard as he does too. I share his voracious appetite for music.
"I must want to say that I am very proud of all that he has achieved and I am glad that he is finally getting some recognition for all that he has done. I am proud to share his name. I am sometimes tempted to pass myself off as him."
Dr. Corey Golding states, "I have grown up admiring the work he (his father) has done. He is a gentlemen. He has taught us to treat a woman the way they should be treated, my brother and myself have learnt that from him.
Loving father
"We were not deprived at all (of time spent with their father). He was very affectionate. Some fathers are very macho. That was not my father. He always had time for us. We still party together, we travel together, we are a very small family and close. He works eight to six at night but still has time to catch up with us. I am doing the same thing that he is doing, finishing my residency in Radiology."
Dr. Trevor Golding continues to hone his skills in writing and has over the years presented several papers on the subject of Medical Imaging both overseas and locally.
He is a foundation member of the Washington D.C. chapter of Friends of Jamaica. He has been Chairman of the Public Education Committee, Norfolk chapter, American Cancer Society; and for 15 years was a volunteer mammography reader for the Jamaica Cancer Society.
He has been Chairman of the Board of Governors, Hargreaves Memorial Hospital and President of the Jamaica Association of Radiologists. In 1977, he was listed in "Who's Who Among Black Americans" and in 1978 was elected to the President's Club, Howard University for his contribution to that institution.
Dr. Golding's passion for music is also legendary. On the Mona campus he operated the 'SOUNDS UNLIMITED' discotheque along with his younger brother and fellow student, Bruce. Together with his wife Shirley and friend John Junor M.P., he helped to create and direct from his home, the 'PADDINGTON POSSE' carnival fete, which ran for 15 years and did a lot to entrench carnival on the Jamaican entertainment landscape and unite the Caribbean people. He shares with his wife a passionate love for the arts and they enjoy attending dramatic and operatic productions .
Dr. Golding enjoys being a stand up comic and his colleagues remember fondly his role of comedian at the Eureka Medical's yearly Christmas party and UWI Medical Alumni Smoker. As his citation at the MAJ awards commented, "A well-balanced person, his view on life in his own words is 'I work hard, this is the only way I know but I temper this by also playing hard'.
