“There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they are gone, the light remains”
Quote from Leigh Standley (Curly Girl)
There are three great lights in the world of Neurodiagnostic Technology whom I think of often, and whom I will always miss. They are Lewis Kull, Gary March and Dr. Ernst Neidermeyer. On April 2nd , it will be ten years since we lost Lew! It is important to me to share the enthusiasm they all had for this field and the many contributions they made to the education of neurodiagnostic technologists across the country.
I met Lew Kull when I took a job working with him at the Boston Children’s Hospital EEG Training Program in 1990. He was the consummate teacher and held the interest of our students over months of lectures on many topics. There was nothing he could not master himself, and he had high expectations of his students. We spent nine wonderful years working together, before he moved on to a new opportunity at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. It was there that he had a tragic accident, in April of 2008, he was crossing a street on his way to give a class to technologists studying for their EEG Board Exams, when he was struck by a delivery truck. He sustained a traumatic brain injury. Eventually, he regained consciousness, but his injury was very severe, and left him in a compromised state, and he remained hospitalized until he passed away on April 2, 2009.
The second shining star, Gary March, was a technologist in New York state for many years, working at Albany Medical Center, and eventually opening his own neurodiagnostic business. In addition to being a great speaker and teacher, Gary was the most enthusiastic meeting planner for the Charles E. Henry Neurodiagnostic Society, the regional society of New York State. Their annual meeting was one of the best, and well attended events, because Gary was able to put together such great programs and recruit a diverse array of speakers. No easy task and I can tell you that from personal experience. Gary fell ill suddenly in 2011 and pancreatic cancer took his life so quickly, and way too early at age 54.
The third shining star is Dr. Ernst Niedermeyer. Dr. Neidermeyer literally “wrote the book”on EEG, publishing several editions of his iconic text book on Electroencephalography over the years. I had the privilege of getting to know him personally, and it was an honor to be his friend. He had the most interesting life! He was born in Germany in 1920, and survived World War II and a conscription into service in the German Army and was captured by American Troops and sent to America as a POW. After the war, he went to Austria and completed medical school, where he developed his lifelong interest in the brain and neurology. In addition to being a brilliant electroencephalographer, he was an accomplished pianist and an avid hiker, climbing many mountains in the Alps. Dr. Niedermeyer always accepted invitations to speak at ASET meetings. He must have mentored many physicians and technologists on all facets of EEG over the years, another treasured teacher. He left this mortal coil in 2012 at the age of 94 and was as sharp as a tack when I last saw him in December of 2011.
It is important to take a moment and appreciate those who help us grow into the best that we can be!
