Remembering Ivy Dreizen, MD (1948-2021)

In Memoriam Remembering Ivy Dreizen, MD (1948–2021) K ind, sincere, ethical, warm, classy, strong, passionate, fearless, cheerful, compassionate, and loving. These words express how NANOS members describe our beloved colleague, Ivy Dreizen, MD, who passed away on March 29, 2021, after a long battle with breast cancer. Ivy was born in Newark, New Jersey, and attended Wellesley College. She met her future husband, Frederick Edelman, as a freshman, and they were married the same year. They both attended medical school in Philadelphia and went to Chicago for internship followed by residency at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center where they became neurologists. Ivy was drawn to neuro-ophthalmology after doing a rotation with Dr. James Goodwin during her residency, while she was pregnant with her first child. She liked it so much that she subsequently did her neuro-ophthalmology fellowship with him at Michael Reese Medical Center. She was also grateful for the mentorship of Richard Appen, MD, early in her career. She and Fred joined the Madison Neurological Center where they practiced together for 30 years. She joined faculty at the University of Wisconsin where she practiced neurology and neuroophthalmology and became the first female Clinical Professor in Neurology. Ivy was passionate about teaching and learning. She enjoyed the challenge of diagnosing and treating patients with complicated neuro-ophthalmic problems and felt that our subspecialty was the most interesting in all of medicine. For many years, she singlehandedly organized and led the Upper Midwest Neuro-Ophthalmology Group annual meeting, making sure that it ran flawlessly. She greeted every attendee at the registration desk with a smile. All new attendees were personally welcomed, and all participants enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones at a sit down lunch. Her involvement in NANOS spanned many decades. She became the president of the Women in NeuroOphthalmology shortly after its inception and served on the Ethics Committee, Audit Committee, and Scientific Program Planning Committee of NANOS. Her greatest contribution was her service related to continuing medical education accreditation. She pioneered that role in 2005, attending meetings of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education in Chicago to be sure that NANOS educational programs were compliant with CME guidelines and protocols. Even after NANOS hired a professional management company with in-house CME staff members, Ivy kept abreast with changes in CME requireFriedman: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2021; 41: 411-412 ments and was personally involved in the review of meeting presentations and our accreditation applications. She received the NANOS Thomas Carlow Distinguished Service Award for her contributions and dedication to the society in 2015. Ivy was beloved by her patients, trainees, and colleagues. She was a humble person who quietly worked behind the scenes to make things happen. She was passionate about teaching, and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of University of Wisconsin honored her posthumously with the distinguished educator award at Learners Day in 2021. Perhaps even greater than her academic contributions, Ivy was a kind, caring, and loving person. She was always optimistic and positive and exuded warmth and joy. Her interactions with others were genuine. She took Italian lessons for many years, which was one of her favorite outlets from work. A patron of the arts, she enjoyed and supported local theater, the symphony, and art museums. During the 8 years that she lived with metastatic cancer, despite the rigors of various treatments, she persevered. Ivy and Fred took pleasure in walking and hiking, often taking long walks 411 Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. In Memoriam in their neighborhood, arm in arm. They had a wonderful marriage and life together. When driving to work in early March, I thought about Ivy and called her from the car. Despite the early hour, she was awake and cooking to prepare for celebrating Passover with her family members who were coming home for the holiday. She was so excited to see her children, Deborah and Joshua, and their families. It was apparent from listening to her speak that she was short of breath, and she indicated having to divide the work into small segments because she was tired and weak. 412 Nonetheless, we had a great conversation about work and life. She passed away 2 weeks later, during the week of Passover, at age 73. Dr. Dreizin is survived by Fred, her beloved husband of 50 years, her children and their spouses, and a grandson. Dr. Dreizin will be greatly missed. Deborah I. Friedman, MD, MPH University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas E-mail: [e-mail] Friedman: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2021; 41: 411-412 Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.