I am therefore feeling extremely proud…

But also deeply humbled…

Because countless many made it all possible…

Not least readers of this blog and subscribers to Neurochecklists

The acknowledgement below comes from the book.

***

I want to first acknowledge the constant support and selfless encouragement of my wife, Zainab, without whom this book would never have been. From conception about a decade ago, to publication, she has been there by my side, nudging and prompting, lifting me up and calming things down.

To my children Aminah, Safiyyah, Ja’far, and Maryam, I want to thank you for your cheerleading and patience, and for your wise counsel during the long road to this point.

I have only unstinting gratitude to Dr Hadi Manji to whom I owe my whole career as a neurologist in the United Kingdom. No words are sufficient to convey my eternal gratitude for his help, support, mentoring, and guidance. If this book is readable at all, it is to his invaluable advice to prune and improve the fluency. And I am also indebted to Dr Juzar Hooker for helpfully introducing me to Dr Manji, unsolicited and, as ever, considerate. And to Prof. Guy Leschziner, my thanks for his review and comments that went such a long way to make this book a reality.

There can’t be a better place to acknowledge my formative training in medicine and neurology at the University College Hospital Ibadan, with special thanks to Prof. Ayodele Falase for the foresight of nudging me towards neurology; and to Prof. Adesola Ogunniyi and Dr. OSA Oluwole for grounding me in the specialty under difficult infrastructural circumstances, and for guiding me towards the successful defence of my neurology dissertations. In a similar way, my appreciation goes to my trainers at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery where I did a diploma and clinical attachment in neurology, and in the Yorkshire and South West Peninsula neurology deaneries where I retrained as a neurologist, for introducing me to the highest quality of UK neurology practice.

I must also thank Tobi Oludayomi and Stephen Bapaga of Studio 14 for the inspired creation of the neurochecklists website, and Peter Mellett for the enhancements that have made it such a powerfully handy tool.

To Miranda Bromage and Samantha Cook at Taylor and Francis go my heartfelt appreciation for the proactive approach to getting this book published. I was expecting a hair-tearing experience, but it has been a superb and pain-free journey through which I felt supported all along the way.

Finally, this book is dedicated to my mother, Hamra Imam – the strongest influence on my development as a person and a doctor; and to the memory of Kalli Imam – a thorough gentleman and the best father anyone could ever wish for.