The Medical field is open to implementing strategies in delivering health care to all in this country and solving sociological problems. So, I say come and join us!

I had the pleasure to meet Dr. Takey Crist in his museum in Jacksonville, North Carolina, he is an exceptional individual in many different ways. The Cyprus Museum houses a rare and rich collection of primarily Cypriot antiquities, some dating back to the Early Bronze Age, 3000 BC. Dr. Crist is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist who has made significant contributions to the Medical Field and Women’s Birth Rights in the State of North Carolina. He has received an extensive number of Awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the University of Chapel Hill of North Carolina, for being a courageous and compassionate champion of women’s reproductive and health rights for four decades; The George Marion Cooper Award; and the NC Governors Award 2000, for his service to the People of the State of North Carolina. He has served on numerous committees, including the Faculty Counsel of the University of North Carolina and the Inter-Agency Advisory Committee for State Wide Family Planning, and he has presented papers in over 149 cities, states, and countries. Dr. Crist has over 40 publications to his credit, including “Elephants and Butterflies”, “We are the Women”, and “Problem Pregnancy and Resource Manual”. He is, also, a devoted humanitarian for the past 25 years in finding a just solution to the Cyprus issue. He has received the Ellis Award in 1998, a Man of the Year by the Cyprus Federation of America, the Greek Defense Medal, and, recently, he received an Award on behalf of the People of Cyprus for his efforts to begin removing the barbed wire, which has divided the nation of Cyprus for over 32 years. He has, also, been appointed Honorary Consulate for the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Crist is a father of five children, and has five grand children and one great grand child.

Dr. Crist, first of all, I would like to congratulate you for all of your accomplishments and, particularly, for The Cyprus Museum, an exceptional display of important artifacts and antiquities preserved with a lot of love and respect to the Cypriot History and Culture.

Thank you, Mrs. Teka, I am trying to hold on to something that I know is gone.

Dr. Crist, in 1955, you graduated from high school in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Would you like to take us back in time to how your life was, being raised by Greek-Cypriot parents in a socio-political environment that was not very favorable to minority groups.

Despite the unfavorable socio-political circumstances, I had a happy childhood. We were only thirty-two kids graduating from high school in 1955. We were very active in sports, played together, and knew each other. We went out to eat or dance, and had to be back home at a certain time. At that time, we did not have the problems youth have today. My parents had a cafe and hotel. My Dad went only to one of my football games, but my mother went to several. However, when I hit myself in one of the games, she did not come, again. We were a very intact Greek family, and many principles of the Greek Orthodox Church were instilled in us.

What family values have you embraced from your Greek heritage? Did your heritage help you define who you are and your life journey?

Both of my parents always told me stories about Greece, Cyprus, and the Ottoman Empire. I was nine years old when I visited Greece and Cyprus, and what always remains in my mind is the following. My mother came from a family of nine sisters and three brothers. Her youngest sister contracted a typhoid fever, when we were visiting. My cousin rode his bicycle eighteen miles one way from Kyrenia, down the hill and through narrow paths, to give her the first dose of Chloramphenicol. His gesture taught me a lot about “Filotimo”. The families had to help each other, because the conditions of daily life were very difficult. My mother and father came through Ellis Island in 1920s and they shared many stories of hardships of employment, giving birth to a child, and learning to survive in a foreign land without language skills or any financial support. They, also, taught us how to save and invest money, all of which I cherish today.

Would you like to share with Goneis readers one of your family traditions?

Visiting Cyprus was very special for me and all of my family. When we first relocated to Jacksonville, we did not have a Greek Orthodox Church, so we went to Episcopalian Church because it shares a similarity with Greek Orthodox principles. Later, we drove to Wilmington when a Greek Orthodox Church was built. All Christmas, Easter, and other religious holiday celebrations were an important part in my family.

Dr. Crist, throughout your life you had an extraordinary professional career, which started with a major in Philosophy. What influenced you to change direction and study Medicine?

I always wanted to be a doctor. However, I majored in Philosophy, because I wanted to understand the logic of things. I wanted to have a well rounded education, including Literature, Social Sciences, and English. I believe these subjects improve your understanding not only of your self, but the world around you.

Since graduation, you have completed more than 40 postgraduate courses, co-authored more than 40 publications, lectured in at least 149 countries and cities around the world, and the list of achievements is very long. I see a clear drive to offer more services in the scientific community. What fascinates you about Obstetrics and Gynecology?

I chose OB/GYN for two reasons. I worked in the Emergency Room in Charleston, SC, and every weekend, we saw a woman having an illegal abortion. I learned very quickly that women didn’t have legal choices of their reproductive organs in mid 1960s. Although, it was the age of sexual revolution, this information was suppressed to young people, despite the fact that they had an active sexual life. As a result, they had many problems with sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies. Due to these major problems, the State of North Carolina made an emphasis to establish clinics and serve these young people. In parallel, the contraceptive industry started to develop along with plastic surgery. I felt this was a much needed specialty in that period, and hoped I could make a difference in women’s health.

Dr. Crist you have strong military background, since you have served as a Major from 1966 to 1974 in the USA Army Reserve. However, your medical philosophy and contributions in Women’s Health have been far from the conservative values that define the Military Culture.

Those days, we had a choice either to interrupt education and go to Vietnam or join the Army while pursuing an education. I was in the Army with many of my fellow high school students, and the sad part of it was that many of them never came back. It took a long time to understand it and come to terms with it. Unfortunately, four decades later we are in a similar situation. Living in a military town, we feel the pain and the loss that affects people. I have been through four Wars, from the First World War to Korea, Vietnam, and now Iraq. It is very painful.

You have been “a true pioneer of services in the cause of women’s health not only in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, but across the State” as the Distinguished Professor and Emeritus Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UNCC, Charles Hendricks stated. What motivated and kept you moving forward, despite challenges from the Medical and Political Community?

I was very fortunate to know Charles Hendricks. I always felt he was like my second Father. In 1960s, we discovered that College students did not have proper sexual education from school, literature, or their parents, but only bathroom walls. In our college, we had a pregnancy rate of 18%. So, I started a course called “Human Sexuality”. The University granted me space to lecture 80 students. The first day of registration, six hundred and fifty students signed up for the course, and we had to move it to the Auditorium. There was an explosion of interest, and we did the book “Elephant and Butterflies”, which gave all the needed information to students. Dr. Hendricks allowed me to travel around the country, as I was pursuing my training, to get a better understanding of what other colleges were doing. Very soon, many universities followed, including Duke, Colorado, South Dakota, and others. As a result, Dr. Hendricks and I opened a lot of minds and informed people, despite the stigma associated with those issues in the 60s and 70s. I fact, it was emotionally rewarding for me to see women having the right to determine their own destiny, without the mental or emotional manipulation of others. Moving forward in the OB/GYN, I would like the cervical cancer vaccine to become a mandatory vaccination for women and prevent them from getting cervix cancer.

In addition to your Medical contributions in the OB/GYN field, you are a passionate advocate of human rights and a solution to the lengthy Cyprus problem. Do you think a just solution will be achieved with respect to human rights and territorial integrity?

Our worst enemy right now is not the Turks, but time! We have been waiting too long to start fighting for a just solution and unification of the island of Cyprus. It is thirty-two years, and we’ve had one hundred thousand Turks occupying the Northern part of the island. The Turks brought all their undesirables to Cyprus and live in homes that don’t belong to them, don’t pay taxes or insurance, and grow products just to name a few. Cyprus is the only country in the world that is divided and has two hundred and thirty-five thousand Cypriots made refugees in their own country. There are forty thousand Turkish troops in the occupied area with USA made weapons, three hundred churches are desecrated and turned into ammunition dumps or storage, and there is a consistent effort of the Turkish government to change the cultural heritage of Cyprus.

I know you are regularly visiting the island of Cyprus. For those readers who are not familiar with the island, what would you like to say?

The free part of Cyprus is the Florida of the Middle East! There are many five star hotels, historical sites, museums with rare antiquities, and, of course, delicious food and a vibrant night life. A trip to Cyprus will leave memories beyond your expectations!

You are an influential and inspiring individual with rich life experiences across all spectrums. What do you value most in life, and what would you like your legacy to be?

I would like to be remembered as a kid (although, I am seventy-one years old;) that I awoke up every morning happy to go to work, had many friends, and hopefully few enemies; and always looked forward to delivering babies, especially a set of triplets. When I see a kid that I delivered 30 years ago, and they tell me I am so and so, it makes me feel good! I value the opportunity to be in this country that gives me the freedom to do what I want and be surrounded by friends.

What would you like your children to learn from you?

I always encouraged my children to make their own choices and be responsible individuals. At times, I wished at least one of my children followed medicine, but they didn’t want that. They saw how much time it took away from the family. But, I truly enjoyed my job. That’s what got me through the day. It is hard to explain to someone how a woman feels when she is trying to have a baby, but she is unable. But when you treat her, and she is able to become a mother, and you deliver this baby, the emotional satisfaction is priceless. Or when you give a woman a second chance, because she made a mistake to have an unwanted pregnancy, and 20 years later she is married with children, and she remembers you for the second opportunity you gave her in life, you can not buy that. I get excited in what I am doing. I have a passion, and I never feel I am tired.

Do you have any regrets?

I wished I had given more time to my family, but maybe I compensated by giving my children anything they wanted.

What is you advice to young adults thinking in pursuing a career in Medicine?

The field of Medicine is wide open for entrepreneurs, innovations, and engineering in how to provide more rapid care for patients. We have to come up with something for the forty-three million people who live in this country and do not have insurance. We need some ideas on how to help those women who get pregnant and do not get prenatal care. We have the highest cost to GDP in delivering healthcare, but in comparison to Canada, Great Britain or Denmark we have the greatest amount of mortality rates in newborn. The Medical field is open to implementing strategies in delivering health care to all in this country and solving sociological problems. So, I say come and join us!

The Cyprus Museum is a work of love and respect of the past in preserving Cypriot History. How did the idea trigger, and how would you like to see the museum evolving in the future?

I feel we need to capture and preserve the culture and heritage of Cyprus, especially when I see antiquities overseas, which is against the law. I would like to see part of the museum’s collection find a home in other cities and various universities.

Do you have any advice to Greek parents?

I think parents should teach their children the Greek language and the history of Greece. Our history encompasses the fundamental values of democracy, which the western civilization is built on. Thomas Jefferson and the rest of our Founding Fathers copied the teaching of the Greeks in creating the American Constitution.

Dr. Crist, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share some of your personal thoughts and for touring the truly beautiful Cyprus Museum.

Thank you Mrs. Teka, it was my pleasure.

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