Dr. Benjamin S. Carson broke down barriers in the medical world, one at a time. He, like President Barack Obama, prove that you can make it despite any odds against you. Years ago, Ben Carson was a young boy with a violent temper, who did the unthinkable. He attacked his own mother with a hammer. He stabbed a schoolmate over a squabble about which radio station to listen to. Thankfully the knife blade hit a belt buckle. His mother, Sonya Carson, was instrumental in her son’s success and she should be applauded and honored. She saw greatness in her son when he didn’t see it. Dr. Carson was raised in Detroit, majored in psychology at Yale University and attended medical school at the University of Michigan, where he studied neurosurgery. Today Dr. Carson is a world-renowned neurosurgeon and the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
Dr. Carson made medical history in 1987 by performing the first successful surgery that separated Patrick and Benjamin Binder, twins conjoined at the back of the head. The boys shared the superior sagittal vein, which is the major vein that drains blood from the brain. If this surgery was performed, the twins would have been bedridden for the rest of their livers. He also performed surgery on conjoined twins Luka and Joseph Banda, who were born in Zambia in 1997. The Banda babies were joined on the top of their heads and facing opposite directions. They were separated in South Africa by a team of 20 doctors and nurses led by Dr. Carson. He also became known for his expertise in pediatric brain tumors and methods of controlling seizures. In 2008, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this country’s highest civilian honor.
He is a role model in every sense of the word. He is also a servant-leader. Dr. Carson wants to continue educational efforts and find ways to reform the health care system when he retires. He wants to continue educational efforts and find ways to reform the health care system when he retires. He is on a mission to spread the word that education and hard work are essential to succeed in life. He and his wife, Candy, started a Carson Scholars foundation to help children with strong academics and humanitarian qualities to pay for college.
“I have at least 100,000 letters from kids and adults from around the world … telling me how it changed their lives,” Carson said. Their tales of transformations and redemption inspire him to keep talking about educational empowerment and overcoming adversity, he said.
An obstacle is a hurdle, and “you jump over it,” Carson said. “Every time you see a hurdle, you jump over it, and it strengthens you for the next one. And if that’s the case, you lead a victorious life, because whatever comes before you, you know you’re going to get around it.” Source: CNN
I hope you watched TNT’s made-for-TV movie, “Gifted Hands,” about Dr. Carson’s life. The biopic stars Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Carson. I am sure that it will be aired again on TNT. He is living proof of the value of hard work, perseverance, discipline, ambition and a solid education are paramount in attaining your goals and making it. He is a trailblazer and should be honored. Dr. Carson, I salute you! A mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste. We have to continue to push our children to reach for the stars.
Filed under: Ambition, Candy Carson, Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Good Hands Movie, Hard Work, Jewish Council for Education in Research, Michigan, Neurosurgeon, Servant-Leader, TNT Biopic
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