Ben Carson’s Legacy in Pediatric Neurosurgery

Introduction

Pediatric Neurosurgery has the ability to save the lives of disabled children with brain or spinal issues. Becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon requires years of education, hard work, and determination. With very little room for failure, neurosurgeons must stretch their minds to get the job done. Ben Carson took the world of neurosurgery by storm. He worked to overcome his disadvantaged childhood and now deserves the highest regard. Ben Carson once said, “Whatever direction we choose, if we can realize that every hurdle we can jump strengthens and prepares us for the next one, we were already in the way to success” (Carson, 1990, p. 56). Carson lived this out in his own life and has done well for himself and his family. Beginning in poverty, Ben Carson worked hard to succeed far beyond the expectations set for a young African American.

Ben Carson’s Early Life

Ben Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1951 to a poor family (Southerland, 2017, p. 1). Carson’s mother dropped out of school in the third grade and married at the age of thirteen (Anonymous, n.d.). At the young age of 8, Carson’s father left Ben, his older brother, and his mother to pursue his other family (Southerland, 2017, p. 2). Due to this, Ben, his brother, and mother moved in with her sister in Boston (Southerland, 2017, p. 2). Carson’s mother, Sonya, worked multiple jobs from 5 am till 11 pm (Southerland, 2017, p. 2). They eventually moved back to Detroit (Southerland, 2017, p. 3). Spending many hours in the hospital waiting room due to their medical assistance program inspired Ben Carson to picture himself as a doctor (Southerland, 2017, p. 3).

Educational Journey

In the 5th grade, he was at the bottom of his class. Carson’s mother, Sonya, saw her boy’s failing grades and stepped in (Anonymous, n.d.). From then on, Carson was only allowed two hours of television per week (Anonymous, n.d.). Also, he was not allowed to play outside until all his homework was done (Anonymous, n.d.). In addition, they were required to read two library books per week (Anonymous, n.d.). Carson was resentful at first, but he soon discovered his huge love of learning (Southerland, 2017, p. 4). Within weeks, he amazed his class by identifying rocks that the teacher had brought to class (Anonymous, n.d.). Despite the tremendous progress he made, Carson still had anger issues, even trying to hit his mother over a small disagreement about fashion; he discovered this was due to putting himself at the center of everything (Southerland, 2017, pp. 4-5).

Professional Achievements

Ben Carson graduated from his local high school with honors (Anonymous, n.d.). Majoring in psychology, Carson attended Yale University (Anonymous, n.d.). After graduating, he went to the Medical School of the University of Michigan, shifting his interest to neurosurgery (Anonymous, n.d.). Carson said, “When I made my choice for neurosurgery, it seemed the most natural thing in the world” (Carson, 1990, p. 105). His great hand-eye coordination and 3D reasoning skills set him apart from other novice students (Anonymous, n.d.). After medical school, Carson worked at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland (Southerland, 2017, p. 6). He specialized in traumatic brain injuries, tumors on the spine and brain, craniosynostosis, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia (Southerland, 2017, pp. 7-8). At the age of thirty-two, Carson was appointed as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery (Southerland, 2017, p. 8), making him the youngest division director in the history of this elite hospital (Southerland, 2017, p. 8). He held this position for the next twenty-nine years before retiring from medicine in 2013 (Anonymous, n.d.).

Beyond Medicine

Beyond medicine, Carson was in constant demand as a public speaker due to his discoveries in neurosurgery, and he devoted his time to meeting with young people (Anonymous, n.d.). After a prayer breakfast in 2013, people urged Carson to run for president (Berenson, 2015). Carson initially thought that if he ignored the call, it would pass (Berenson, 2015). However, the concern kept building, and Carson began to listen (Berenson, 2015). He noticed that the elderly had begun to give up hope for America and wished to die (Berenson, 2015). Additionally, young people grew afraid of what was going to happen in their children’s and grandchildren’s lives (Berenson, 2015). Carson heard the loud and clear call to run, motivated to share his encouraging story with kids (Berenson, 2015). Carson responded to this call by saying, “So having had a career as a problem solver, I said, Lord you know I don’t want to do this but if you open the doors I’ll do it” (Berenson, 2015).

Award and Recognitions

Ben Carson accomplished a lot in the medical field and has made a name for himself, especially for beginning in poverty, a broken home, and his past anger issues. Between 2000 and 2001, Carson received three awards: The Jefferson Award for greatest public service benefiting the disadvantaged, Election by the Library of Congress for designation as one of the 84 Library of Congress Living Legends on their 200th birthday, and was named one of the 20 foremost physicians and scientists by Time Magazine and CNN (Southerland, 2017, p. 14).

Receiving three more awards between 2004-2006, Carson was appointed to the President’s Council on Bioethics, received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership, and the Springarn Medal from the NAACP, the highest honor for outstanding achievement (Southerland, 2017, pp. 14-15). From 2007-2008, Carson received The Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with “America’s Best Leaders” by US News and World Report; lastly, he received Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal for demonstrating the qualities embodied in Lincoln: courage, equality, integrity, tolerance, and creative expression (Southerland, 2017, p. 15). Around the end of his medical career in 2013, Carson was elected into the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in medicine and health, along with The Daily Record’s Influential Marylander; Carson was placed sixth on a list of the most admired men in the world poll by Gallup (Southerland, 2017, p. 15).

Pioneering in Neurosurgery

Ben Carson impacted society by pioneering in the uncharted territory of neurosurgery. Carson separated, for the first time in history, a pair of conjoined twins who were connected at the head (Southerland, 2017, p. 10). Prior to this breakthrough, no other neurosurgery had successfully resulted in both twins surviving (Southerland, 2017, p. 10). Carson successfully repeated this surgery multiple times throughout his career (Southerland, 2017, p. 10). Carson and his team also traveled and worked internationally (Southerland, 2017, p. 11). In 1997, they went to Zambia to separate twins conjoined at the top of the head (Southerland, 2017, p. 11). After the 28-hour procedure, both survived without any brain damage (Southerland, 2017, pp. 11-12). Despite new technology, Carson attempted to separate 29-year-old Iranian women conjoined at the head, but both died within hours of the surgery due to connected blood vessels in the brain (Southerland, 2017, pp. 12-13).

Conclusion

Ben Carson began with the disadvantages of a broken home, poverty, and anger issues. Carson worked hard on his journey of life and once said, “Often as I walk through the wards I think, it is so great now while I am a student, it is going to be even greater when I finish my residency” (Carson, 1990, p. 79). Throughout all the many hurdles he jumped, Carson stayed humble and stood fast in his faith. Carson built a legacy that will outlast him. In his career of neurosurgery and politics, Carson exemplifies hard work and perseverance. Beginning in an uphill battle, Carson endured to conquer what once seemed impossible.

References

Anonymous. (n.d.). Ben Carson’s biography. Retrieved from [Source 5 URL]

Berenson, A. (2015). Ben Carson: The quiet revolution. Retrieved from [Berenson Source URL]

Carson, B. (1990). Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. Zondervan.

Southerland, L. (2017). The life and legacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Retrieved from [Southerland Source URL]