The rewards of pediatric neurosurgeryPresidential address: twenty-ninth annual meeting of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, October 18, 2011, Goa, India

The author relates how he ended up somewhat unexpectedly as a pediatric neurosurgeon and how fortunate he feels to have become a pediatric neurosurgeon. He reflects on his life and on the importance of trying to do one’s best. He comments about the importance of listening, empathizing, and being compassionate as characteristics of the pediatric neurosurgeon and notes that by trying one’s best to be a good pediatric neurosurgeon one adopts more of these characteristics by learning from patients and their parents. He discusses the many ways in which the practice of pediatric neurosurgery and his involvement in the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery have created meaning in his life, which has led to a feeling of happiness and fulfillment.