The Call
When Dr. Swann's world shifted overnight in early 2021, his brother Brad was in Houston. He had built a career there, a life there — a family there. But when a brother calls and a family needs you, the geography stops mattering.
Brad made the decision to come home to Waco. His employer in Houston — in an act of genuine generosity — allowed him to work remotely from Waco so he could be present for his brother and his family during the hardest season the practice had ever faced. Brad was already working two jobs. He added a third — rolling up his sleeves alongside his in-laws to help run their family restaurant, KnDrive-In in Cuero, Texas. Cuero and Waco are two separate communities, but the expectation was the same: show up, work hard, and take care of family.
He was away from his wife and his children. And he did it without hesitation — for two full years.
Two Years Apart
For two years, Brad Swann lived a divided life — present in Waco for his brother and his parents, but separated from his own family who remained in Houston. It was a quiet sacrifice, the kind that doesn't show up on a résumé or get mentioned in a press release.
His children grew during those two years. His family adjusted. And he showed up for Waco — every day — because that's what the Swann name had always meant.
Uncle Beau made sure the kids always knew they were part of this story too.
The Decision
The conversation between Brad and Beau was the kind that only happens between brothers who've already proven they'd sacrifice for each other. They agreed: buy the practice together. Give their parents the retirement they had earned over a lifetime of service to this community. Take the weight off their father's shoulders — and free him to do what he'd always loved most.
"Dad gets to watch sailboats on the water now.
That was the whole point."
Dr. Russell E. Swann spent his career giving sight to Central Texas. His sons' greatest gift in return was the gift of rest.
“Be like a Swann, always stay calm, cool and collected on the surface but paddle like hell underneath.”
— Russell Swann
The grit and drive our father instilled in us — and expected of us — is the quiet force at the heart of this story. That same spirit is what this community deserves: steady on the surface, relentless underneath. Brad and Beau will try every day to embody our father's legacy for Waco.
Making Waco Home — Again
After two years apart, Brad made the call that mattered most: he moved his family permanently to Waco. The city he had left became the city he chose — the same choice his father had made over forty years before him.
Today, Brad serves as Executive Director of Brazos Eye Surgery of Texas — the business mind behind the clinical mission, the steady hand that allows Dr. Swann to focus fully on what he trained a lifetime to do: give people back their sight.
Together, they've built something their parents can be proud of. The surgeries that Waco has always had to send to Dallas or Austin — LASIK, PRK, ICL, advanced cataract surgery, glaucoma, cornea care — are here now. In Waco. At home.
The Brother from Another Mother
No chapter of this story would be complete without Dr. Jordan Tanous, OD — the man Beau trained personally in an extensive fellowship that went far beyond the standard curriculum.
Most ophthalmologists — even excellent ones — don't hold a glaucoma fellowship. Dr. Swann does. And over the course of their working relationship, he passed years of that subspecialty knowledge directly to Dr. Tanous — clinical depth that most optometrists never access and that most ophthalmologists simply don't have time to teach.
Dr. Tanous has taken that knowledge and made it his own. He now leads the glaucoma medical management practice that Dr. Russell Swann Sr. built over decades — and does so with a depth of understanding that honors everything that practice was built on. He assists Dr. Swann in cornea and cataract management. He is our resident dry eye expert. And as our LASIK specialist, he is genuinely excited — every single day — to hand patients the keys to a life without glasses.
Meet Dr. TanousHe isn't just a colleague. He's the brother from another mother — and a cornerstone of what Brazos Eye Surgery is today and will be tomorrow.
A Legacy Continued
The surgical specialties that Waco has always had to outsource to Dallas or Austin — LASIK, PRK, ICL, advanced cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, cornea care — are available here now. In Waco. In our community. Under one roof.
We carry our father's name with pride. We serve this community with everything we have. And we humbly thank Waco — every patient, every referral, every neighbor who has trusted us with the most important sense they have — for their continued support.
"Two brothers continue a legacy at levels that should make our mother and father proud."
We'd Be Honored to Be
Your Family's Eye Care Home.
The same care. The same commitment. The same community. Just a new generation carrying it forward.