Illinois Medicine

distinguished alumnus by Ri c ha rd As a ' R ' Patience, Faith and Hard Work Distinguished Alumnus' commitment to service has greatly impacted neurological field ichard Nyako, MS '71, PhD '72, MD '76, Res '80, acquired polio as a toddler and crawled until he was 9. That was probably the last time he was held back by anything. This year's recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Nyako says he got his perseverance from his father, who worked long hours tending the family's cocoa farms, while also growing corn, rice and ground nuts to make ends meet year-round in their native Ghana. "I remember in those days there were lots of childhood diseases," Nyako recalls. "When I had high fevers, my father would pick me up and walk 35 miles on a dirt road to the closest hospital. They did everything they could to keep me alive, but there was [the condition of] my legs. I remember measles, whooping cough, yellow fever and sleeping sickness. Malaria was a big problem." The health needs of his countrymen have remained fresh in his mind throughout his long career. The youthful Nyako's way out was paved by his innate intelligence, curiosity and work ethic, which was recognized early. He was taught to read and write by his older brothers, who also got him interested in arts and crafts such as making baking pans, repairing clocks and painting murals at the local school. He later graduated at the top of his class in secondary school and had one of the highest SAT scores the American embassy had ever seen, according to the educational attaché. That helped land him in the United 34 | Spr i n g 2 0 1 3 Adds Adrienne Segovia, MD '90, chair of the University of Illinois' Medical Alumni Council, "Dr. Nyako is an incredibly kind, thoughtful and soft-spoken man. The world would be a better place if there were more people like him in it. His presence and his demeanor manifest his passion, which is medicine and [particularly] caring for the underserved. I don't once remember him mentioning his disability." Nyako earned his PhD in biochemistry at University of Illinois at Chicago, continued on to In retirement, Richard Nyako has returned to his native Ghana his medical degree and also completed his resito improve the West African country's neurological diagnostic and treatment infrastructure. dency in neurology at the college. After working in and around Chicago for some years, Nyako States on the day Martin Luther King Jr. gave took his practice to Tampa, Fla., in 1983. his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech in August At the time, there were only three 1963. Nyako remembers that he had one dollar neurosurgeons and five neurologists in the area. and 10 cents in his pocket, but he had already There were no CT or MRI scanners, however been accepted to attend Elmhurst College. there were two neurodiagnostic centers and one There, he worked in the library and the cafeteria rehabilitation center. Nyako and an orthopaedist and as a summer camp counselor. He graduated and a neurosurgeon with whom he worked were in 1967 with a double-major in chemistry instrumental in bringing the needed diagnostic and math. equipment and services to the Tampa area. He "I'm sure there are many amongst you also supported free clinics in both the Tampa Bay that were accepted into several medical schools area and his home country, and he cared and yet chose to come to the University of Ilfor the growing elderly population and lowlinois College of Medicine," he told M1 students income patients. during the annual White Coat Ceremony last "Tampa at that time was still growing," August (see related story, page 29). "I congratuhe says. "There were a lot of hospitals, but MRI late you for your good choice. The University of scanning at that time was a new entity. NeurodiIllinois has been good to me, and the education agnostics was beginning to advance, so a small and training I received here has served me well." group of us got together and decided to open A former mentor, Philip B. Gorelick, MD, neurodiagnostic and neuroradiology centers. Our MPH, now the medical director at Hauenstein office complex was 26,000 square feet. We called Neuroscience Center at St. Mary's Health Care it Water's Edge. in Grand Rapids, Mich., remembers Nyako as "Neurological conditions know no bar"one of the amazing success stories at UIC. Dr. riers, so there were a lot of people with strokes, Nyako overcame his medical disability through chronic pain, migraines and epilepsy. It was patience, faith, hard work and the added value known as a place for senior citizens, particularly of modern orthopaedic surgery as he underwent in the wintertime. Tampa was expanding rapidly, many operations." so we also saw patients with acute and chronic illinois medicine | 5

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