Brilliant Brain Surgeon

Director Of Pediatric Surgery

Johns Hopkins Hospital

Coming from a broken home in Detroit, Michigan, Ben Carson developed a terrible hot temper along with severe low self-esteem at a very young age. He was just another kid trying to survive. His possibility for a decent future didn’t look good. The deck was definitely stacked against him.

Remember though, that in America, it doesn’t matter what cards you are dealt, it only matters how you play the hand, and the Carson family managed to play their hand quite well. Today, Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr. is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland as well as one of the world’s top brain surgeons.

Instrumental in building up that initially weak deck of cards was Ben’s mother, Sonya who was the rock of the family. She went through some tremendous challenges in her youth as well, in-and-out of foster homes, a third grade education, married at thirteen and heart problems. Worst of all, she found out that her husband, a minister, already had a wife on the other side of town with five children. With all of these challenges she was determined that somehow her two boys would one-day amount to something good.

“I did not like school very much and there was no reason why I should,” recalls Carson. “Inasmuch as I was the dumbest kid in the class, what did I have to look forward to? The others laughed at me and made jokes about me every day. I really felt I was the stupidest kid in the fifth grade.” It was his mother’s love that stressed that education was the only way he was ever going to escape poverty.

She sought guidance through prayer about Ben and his older brother Curtis’ situation. She was given the wisdom, which was to limit the boy’s television viewing to only two pre-selected programs per week. They were currently wasting away with mindless TV. Also, they would each be required to read two books per week and do a written book report on them. “Even though I was in the fifth grade, I had never read a whole book in my life,” Dr. Carson states matter-of-factly.

One day in the later half of the sixth grade, Carson’s science teacher held up a stone and asked the class what it was. No one answered, not even the smartest kids. Ben knew what it was, from his weekly book readings. He raised his hand and said “obsidian.” The teacher, amazed, said that is right. That became a turning point in young Benjamin’s future. Never again was he to be teased as the “stupidest” kid.

Hard and long hours of study awarded Carson a scholarship to Yale University. He continued his studies at the University of Michigan Medical School where he studied neurosurgery. After graduating, he moved on to Johns Hopkins University where he later worked his way up to Director of Pediatric Surgery. At age 32, he became the youngest surgeon in the nation to hold that distinguished title.

Dr. Carson’s profession awards him the opportunity to work with the families of children who have horrible brain tumors or other neurological conditions. He performs over 500 critical operations on children in dire need each year, which is over triple the average neurosurgeon’s caseload.

It was in 1987 that Carson was thrust into the worldwide spotlight. After months of preparation, Dr. Carson led his team in a grueling operation on the Binder Siamese twins who were both connected at the back of the head. The operation was successful.

When asked how he stays focused? “It’s a matter of constantly being in the correct state of mind. The first thing I do is pray. Then I read from the Bible, the book of Proverbs, which has an enormous amount of wisdom. Just give me wisdom to know what to do and what not to do,” states our humble physician.

Dr. Carson shares his wisdom in his two outstanding books, “Gifted Hands” and “Think Big.” He has also been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Horatio Alger Award, the American Academy of Achievement Award, and the recipient of 21, yes 21, honorary doctorate degrees. He has also been profiled in PARADE Magazine, Reader’s Digest, The New York Times, and Fortune Magazine, among many others.

In his book “Think Big” the initials stand for T – Talent, H – Honesty, I – Insight, N – Nice, K – Knowledge, B – Books, I – In-Depth Learning, and G – God.

Dr. Carson’s credentials read like a Who’s Who, including, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery, Associate Professor of Oncology, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery.

Despite Dr. Carson’s incredible schedule, he still manages to give his motivational talks from the heart to America’s youth on the subject of Thinking Big and going for your dreams, just as he did, against the odds.

“I made a commitment to myself that at every opportunity, I’d encourage young people. As I became more well-known and started getting more opportunities to speak, I decided that teaching kids how to set goals and achieve them would be a constant theme of mine. Nowadays I get so many requests, I can’t accept anywhere near all of them. Yet, I try to do as much as I can for young people without neglecting my family and my duties at Johns Hopkins,” he stresses with all sincerity.

To honor their local hero, a recent stage production, “Ben Carson, M.D.” has been running in Baltimore, Maryland for over the last two years to major success. Audiences have laughed, cried and felt the incredible passion, that determination, focus and strong faith do indeed payoff for those who put them to work. Thousands of seeds of hope and joy are planted in the children and families who are touched by this true-life rags-to-riches story.

Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., an incredible, giving man continues to help others THINK BIG and most of all to believe in their dreams.