‘Never felt more gratified’

Opening a new practice has brought a lot of “firsts” for OUWB alumnus Mavis Gappy, M.D., but one of those moments stands out — the first time his grandfather visited.

Sure, Gappy beamed with pride as he showed off his office’s new ophthalmology equipment, the freshly painted and decorated walls, and the recently assembled furniture.

But what he was most happy for his grandfather to see were the people from the local community coming in as patients to Orchard Ophthalmology in Farmington Hills, Mich.

It was especially meaningful, Gappy says, because of how important community and family are to his grandfather who immigrated to the U.S. and ran a liquor store in Detroit for nearly 40 years.

“He’s sitting in my lobby watching people he grew up with coming in as patients,” says Gappy, recently named a 2026 Hour Detroit Top Doc. “It was amazing … that was true for me. That’s the America I grew up with.”

A father’s influence

Gappy grew up in West Bloomfield, Michigan and attended Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory High School. For undergraduate studies he went to Wayne State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with University Honors.

Perhaps even more important for his development and growth were his family members.

It essentially began with his grandfather, Shafik Gappy, who brought his family – including all seven of his children — to the U.S. from Iraq during a time of “conflict and persecution.”

The elder Gappy would go on to work in a Detroit liquor store for 35 years.

“He worked hard to give us the opportunity to get an education,” says Mavis.

That included Mavis’s father, Musib Gappy, M.D., who would eventually become a gastroenterologist and internal medicine physician.

As a child, Mavis helped out in his father’s office, where he assisted with tasks such as filing.

A big influence on his interest in medicine came from patients who described how Mavis’s father had help them, including saving their lives in some instances.

“My father taught me that if you’re doing a job where you can help people, you’ll never feel like you work a day in your life,” says Mavis.

That made it easy for Mavis to decide on a career in health care at a young age.

‘Felt more wanted’

Gappy had plans to attend another medical school but things changed when he learned more about OUWB: its curriculum; affiliation with Corewell Health; available scholarships; and more.

Participating in the school’s Second Look event helped cement the decision.

“I felt more wanted and like the school model fit me better … plus I saw all the people who had matched in ophthalmology, dermatology, and internal medicine, which were all programs I was looking at,” he said. “It was like, ‘Why wouldn’t I take the chance?’”

Overall, he describes his time at OUWB as a defining and deeply positive experience, and one that left him with “zero regrets.” He says it gave him a core education, helped prepare him for residency, and became foundational to his personal life.

Mavis Gappy met his wife Stephanie Gappy, M.D., OUWB ’23, when he was a second-year medical student and she was an OU undergrad.

For example, he met his wife Stephanie Gappy, M.D., OUWB ’23, when he was a second-year medical student and she was an OU undergrad. (The couple got engaged the day after Stephanie’s White Coat Ceremony.)

He formed other close bonds that continue to this day. Gappy, along with Meelod Daneshvar, M.D., Luke Odisho, M.D., John Eed, M.D., Christopher Kanaan, M.D., and Erfan Faridmoayer, M.D., were such a tight-knit group that they collectively became known as “the boy band.”

Gappy gives a lot of credit to Faridmoayer, who died unexpectedly in 2023, for fostering the group’s closeness.

“He was good at making us feel like a family…tell us when we were going to get together for dinner and do other things,” says Gappy. “He really tied us all together.”

Upon graduation, Gappy had a transitional year internship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit before serving there as an ophthalmology resident for four years. (He was a chief resident his last year at Henry Ford.)

‘Never felt more gratified’

It didn’t take long after completing residency for Gappy to realize he wanted to open his own practice.

Primarily, he was driven by the desire to have the freedom to practice in a way that put patients first. He could make decisions based on patient need rather than feeling pushed by a larger organization’s priorities.

And he wanted to serve the community in which he lives – Gappy’s new practice is about two miles from his home and many of his family members reside in the area, too.

It all allows Gappy to offer patients a wide range of services, from comprehensive eye exams to cataract surgery.

And the fact that his practice is directly across the hall from his father’s office is icing on the cake.

“It’s been a blessing,” he says. “I see people from all walks of life, from Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield to Troy and even Detroit … I have pretty much every ethnicity you could think of that I see and it’s great. It’s how I grew up.”

It wasn’t always easy, though. He essentially had to learn the business of medicine on what he describes as a “trial-by-fire” basis. There were other hiccups, too, like the time a pipe left uncapped after construction caused his lobby to fill with about two inches of water – when the chairs were brand new.  

But with the support of his wife — and the two children they now have, Ava and Julia — and from family and community members, Gappy’s practice not only has persevered, but is now thriving.

“I’ve never felt more gratified,” he says.

Orchard Ophthalmology is located at 27970 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 2, Farmington Hills, Michigan. The practice is welcoming new patients.