Alexa Canady: Woman of Change Throughout the twentieth century many changes occurred in all areas of American life.

These changes developed slowly as many people worked to overcome racial and gender discrimination and hatred. African Americans began to emerge in every field, thereby opening doors to an accepting and equal American society. Women also began to emerge as a strong force in many fields and opened the doors for woman all around the world with their cries for equal rights. Alexa Canady, the first black woman and African American neurosurgeon, helped establish a name for both women and African Americans in a new light. Alexa Canady was born on November 7, 1950, to Elizabeth Hortense Canady and Clinton Canady Jr. Her father was a practicing dentist who graduated from School of Dentistry of Meharry Medical College. And her mother was a Civil Rights Activist and served as the national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; she graduated from Fiasco University. Her strong family background gave her the will and courage to believe she could achieve anything. Alexa Canady and her brother were born and grew up just outside of Lansing, Michigan. They both attended an all white school and were the only two African Americans students there. Due to the circumstances they faced many obstacles. However, Canady proved to be a worthy student. She was awarded with the National Achievement Scholar in 1967 at the age of seventeen. Canady then went on to major in math at Michigan University. She soon realized, however, that the subject held no interest for her even though she excelled at it. The summer after her junior year, Canady attended a minority student program at the campus. During the program, she worked in a genetics lab and went to a genetic counseling clinic; she realized her love for medicine there.

She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1971 receiving her BS degree. She then went on to University of Michigan Medical School and graduated with an M.D. cum laude in 1975. From 1975 to 1976 Canady interned at Yales New Hane Hospital. There she became the first female and African American to a residency in neurosurgery. Her first day on the job, she was referred to by a hospital administrator as "the new equal-opportunity package." Canadys achievement not only helped her but proved women and African Americans to be just as equally powerful. Along with neurosurgery, Canady worked to change the viewpoint on African Americans as patients and physicians. She claimed the major medical problem for Blacks stemmed from the scarcity of research targeting their specific health concerns and needs. She did this by working with her colleges. Canady even claimed that without the help of everyone including the patients, a hospital cannot run successfully. Thereby, Canady spent much of her life helping advance African Americans, woman, and the field of neurology. Canady is now the director of neurosurgery at Children's Hospital in Detroit. She is also a clinical associate professor at Wayne State University. Canady focuses on Craniofacial Abnormalities, Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus, Pediatric Neurosurgery, and Tumors of Spinal Cord and Brain. Over the years, Canady has assisted in developing neuroendoscopic equipment that can measure pressure change in the hydrocephalus, head injuries, hydrocephalus and shunts, neuroendoscopy, and pregnancy complications of shunts. Neuroendoscopic equipment is a combination of a telescope and video camera that allow neurosurgeons to look into the skull, brain, and spine, and effectively identify what part the problem or injury is in. Improvements to this equipment can be made by creating higher resolution cameras to exactly pinpoint the area of the problem. Furthermore, additional research can be on the brain to see how each part of the

brain (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes) work together to stabilize or destabilize human functioning. Moreover, advances in computer navigational systems can be made to combine with the telescopes and cameras to directly indicate the area of injury. The advances made by Dr. Canady have influenced my life not only as a woman but also as a person intending to go into the medical field. First, her achievements opened doors for women that were previously seen as taboo for women to enter. Furthermore, her basic building block knowledge in neurology and medicine overall has laid the foundation for bettering equipment and a broader understanding of how the brain works. For medical students this is a great discovery because they can now expand on this knowledge to establish better enhanced treatment. For her advances in the field, Canady was chosen to Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society in 1975. She was also awarded the Children's Hospital of Michigan's Teacher of the Year award in 1984. She was also included in the Michigan Woman's Hall of Fame in 1989. Additionally, in 1993, she received the American Medical Women's Association President's Award; in 1994 she was given the Distinguished Service Award from Wayne State University Medical School. Dr. Canady received two honorary degrees: a doctorate of humane letters from the University of Detroit-Mercy, in 1997, and a doctor of science degree from the University of Southern Connecticut, in 1999. In 2002, the Detroit News named Dr. Canady Michiganer of the Year for her great services. Until she retired in 2001, Canady remained chief of neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. All through her twenty-year career in pediatric neurosurgery, Dr. Canady saved thousands of patients while creating a name for herself, African Americans, and women.

Alexa Canady is truly a woman that aided in revolutionizing the thinking of many Americans forever.

Bibliography (2001). Celebrating women's history: Alexa Canady. Who Changed the World, Retrieved from <http://www.galeschools.com/womens_history/bio/canady_a.htm>. Neuroendoscopy. (2001, June 02). Retrieved from <http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/doernbecher/programs.services/neurology/servi ces/neuroendoscopy.cfm>.

(2008) Opening Doors for African-American Surgeons. USA Today Magazine, 136(2753), 4. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxygsusfay.galileo.usg.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid= 9e33a323-330a-4e5f-bb60-59fb3e8d78eb%40sessionmgr113&vid=2&hid=122>. Opening doors: Contemporary african american academic surgeons. (2006, November 14). Retrieved from <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/aframsurgeons/canady.html>.