Dr. Ben Carson

My family has a tradition of going to Manzanita on the Oregon Coast every summer for a week. When I was eight years old, my mom borrowed a book from the library called Gifted Hands, and brought it to Manzanita. I listened as she read some of the astonishing stories to me. I was immediately pulled in, as I had never heard anything like these uplifting and sometimes heartbreaking stories of children given a second chance to live. Ever since, this remarkable neurosurgeon has taught me valuable lessons and led me to believe that what may seem impossible can actually be possible - even if it includes failure in the process. This man will always be my hero, and most people would agree that he is a true hero. His name is Dr. Ben Carson. In his autobiography, Gifted Hands, he shares stories about several children with traumatic brain injuries, constant life-threatening seizures, and even conjoined twins. Most of the victims are children, my age or younger, and it makes me feel so lucky to be who I am when I see all that the innocent disabled children have to go through. The renowned surgeon, Dr. Carson, always gives his best for these children, even when it includes doing a painstaking surgery that no other surgeon has been able to do successfully. People from all over the world have come with their children to him at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, where he works, with hopes for a cure - something Ben Carson might be able to accomplish.

Benjamin Solomon Carson was born on September 18, 1951, in inner-city Detroit, Michigan. He was the second son of Sonya and Robert Solomon Carson. However, when Ben was eight, his parents divorced. Sonya had to take care of both her children on her own, but since she was so poor, she had to attend several jobs in order to support her family. She was a strict mother, and wanted her children to do well in school so they could have better opportunities than she ever had. Since she only had a third-grade education, she couldn't help Ben on his school work as much as she could help him develop other skills. She taught him that anything is possible, and that he should read and believe in himself. At first both boys had trouble in school. They were falling behind in their classes, and Sonya realized this had to change. She limited television time and wouldn't let the boys go out to play unless they had finished all their homework. She was very strict, making sure the boys read books and wrote reports, and at first they were reluctant to work this hard. But soon Ben found reading enjoyable, and excelled at school. He realized he loved to learn and during fifth grade, he was a top student in his class.

Today, Dr. Carson still keeps a busy schedule, and performs nearly 300 operations a year. He speaks to various groups around the country, and is internationally renowned. He will always be my hero, because he has given so many children a second chance at a healthy, normal life. He is definitely a role model to all youth of today. I will always admire his persistence and wisdom - he has given hope to hundreds of kids who thought nothing else could be done, and no one could save them. However, fortunately they were proven wrong. Thank you.

Since Ben Carson was such a diligent worker, he did well in all his high school classes and successfully graduated from high school with honors. He had dreams of a medical career, but at this point they were just fantasies. When he graduated from high school, his mother was not financially well off, so he found a job. Finally, with a scholarship, he was admitted to Yale University where he pursued a degree in psychology. He went to the University of Michigan for medical school, but later on his interest shifted from psychiatry to neurosurgery. He realized he was a born neurosurgeon, as he had great hand-eye coordination skills, and could visualize the brain in 3D. Later he and his wife, Candy Rustin, whom he had met at Yale, moved to Baltimore where he did a residency at Johns Hopkins University. At age 33, in 1985, Dr. Ben Carson became the youngest physician ever to lead a major division at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. He was the chief resident in neurosurgery, and professor of four other medical fields - neurosurgery, oncology, pediatric medicine, and plastic surgery. Dr. Carson and his wife Candy founded the Carson Scholars Fund in 1994. The foundation grants scholarships to young students. In 2002, Carson was forced to cut back his work hours after developing prostate cancer. After the operation, which left him cancer-free, he decided to adjust his life to spend more time with his wife and their three children, Murray, Benjamin Jr., and Rhoeyce.

Earlier this year I read his book Gifted Hands again. This was even before this project was assigned. I remembered how intrigued I was back in 2008, so I decided to read the book again. My favorite story is about a girl named Maranda Francisco. It was mainly this story that inspired me to read on, and what made me realize that Dr. Carson is a true hero. No doctors knew what to do with Maranda Francisco. Finally, they came to Johns Hopkins for an evaluation, and Dr. Carson would do his first hemispherectomy, which is a procedure where one cerebral hemisphere is removed or disabled. The poor little girl had up to 100 seizures a day, and the right side of her body was completely useless. Before the procedure, Maranda's mother asked Maranda if she wanted anything special as a treat after the surgery. She replied, "No more seizures." After the long, painstaking surgery, Maranda Francisco finally awakened and even talked. To her parents' surprise and joy, she has had no seizures since then. Her wish came true! She just has a slight limp and other minor health problems. This was a true miracle. There are other inspiring stories, like this next one. In 1987, Dr. Carson and 70 other members on the medical team successfully separated seven-month old German Siamese twin boys. They were joined at the back of the head, and shared the cerebral blood drainage system. It was uncertain that the boys would survive through the 22-hour procedure, but they did, and the boys returned home to Germany after seven months at Hopkins. Fortunately, today the boys show no signs of impairment from the surgery, and today are living happy, healthy, independent lives thanks to Dr. Ben Carson. He has helped to separate other conjoined twins as well, giving hope to families because they know that both children would not be able to live productive lives if they stay connected forever. However, not all of his stories are this happy. In some cases, children have died on the operating table due to complications during the operation, and for other sometimes unknown reasons. But he always knows, and tells himself, "Whatever happens will happen, and we will know we did our best."