Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-LifeTales of Black Girl Magic

Alexa Canady

Pediatric Neurosurgeon

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was really smart. But nobody knew it, because her test scores were just okay. Alexa’s family did a little digging to find out why she didn’t test well at school. They found out that Alexa’s elementary school teacher had been switching her grades with a white student’s. The wicked teacher got fired, and Alexa skipped third grade and went straight to fourth. In college, Alexa started out in the math department, but something was missing. Next, she got a degree in zoology, the study of animals. But that wasn’t a perfect fit either. Finally, she found medicine, and it was just right! Alexa realized she wanted to heal people. After years and years of training, she became the first Black woman to be a pediatric neurosurgeon- a doctor who treats children’s brains. Alexa loved her job. Sometimes she’d work as many as 100 hours in a week, playing games with patients, diagnosing them, and battling their illnesses. She healed thousands of children. Some kids were in her care for so long that she became part of their family. Her patients trusted her and told her about their symptoms. Sometimes even the littlest bit of information could make a big difference in saving a kid’s life. Once, a little boy came to her showing signs of a stroke. Alexa didn’t believe it. He was so young! How could he have a disease that usually only affected adults? Something didn’t feel right to Alexa. After many tests, she found a tiny tumor. She removed it and saved the boy’s life. “Always trust your gut, ” Alexa says.

Born November 7, 1950

United States of America