Two thousand and twenty, for most of us, has been a year of uncertainty. As neurosurgeons, we are not unfamiliar with the ways in which a life can be disrupted. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire world to experience the disruption of life as we know it. The social unrest that followed in the United States was mirrored by unrest elsewhere in the world. The combination has altered our lives, and with this we have adapted, persevered and consequently evolved.
This issue’s theme was decided upon in the spring of 2020; at that time, looking forward, I was optimistic that the fall of 2020 might allow for a retrospective look at an experience that had come to an end. Instead, the months that ensued yielded an escalation of events on every front. We are still in the midst of things; during this time, neurosurgeons and others dealt with issues of deactivation, reactivation and telehealth medicine. The practice of neurological surgery never came to a halt.
Neurosurgeons are leaders; the profession necessitates mental agility, resilience and innovation. The articles featured in AANS Neurosurgeon over the next three months will reveal just this; our colleagues throughout the world have demonstrated fluidity in continuing to educate trainees and patients and provide treatment of neurosurgical disease during these unprecedented times. Perhaps some of the experiences will provide inspiration or admiration for our fellow human; we realize that the similarities that bind us far outnumber the differences, whether actual, physical or imagined that divide us.
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