Benjamin S. Carson
...friend with a knife because he changed the station on the radio. When Carson’s mother saw his failing grades, she was determined to turn Carson and his brother’s life around. Mrs. Carson had limited her son’s television time and did not let them go outside until they finished their homework. Mrs. Carson made them read two books a week and wrote a report on the books that they read. With her lack of education, she could barely read what they had written. Carson had always been interested in Science and Nature so he read books about rocks, plants, and animals. One day Carson’s teacher brought some rocks to class so that the class could identify what kind of rocks they were. No one in the class could identify the rocks but Carson. He remembered the rock from one of the books he had read. His classmates were very surprised that he knew what kind of rocks they were. From that point on Carson knew that he was not stupid. Carson continued to surprise his classmates with his new knowledge. He came from the bottom of his class to the top. Carson then determined that he was going to become a physician. Carson graduated with honors from high school. He was third in his class and had excellent SAT scores. After graduating in 1968, Carson went to Yale University on an academic scholarship. Carson earned his degree in Psychology from Yale. After graduating from Yale, Carson attended the University of Michigan’s Medical School where he wanted to become a neurosurgeon. After medical school, Carson became a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. When Carson was 33, he became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Carson is an associate professor of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and oncology. Carson is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Hopkins School of Medicine. Carson’s interests are neuro-oncology and laboratory investigations into their defense mechanisms. Carson has developed a significant craniofacial program in which children with congenital deformities undergo combined neurosurgical and plastic surgical reconstructions. He also studies the problems of achondroplastic children and has particular interest in cervicomedullary compression and its treatment. In 1987, Carson made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins. The twins were joined at the back of their heads and shared the major cerebral blood drainage system. A 70-member medical team, led by Carson, operated for 22 hours. Operations to separate twins, that are joined together, had usually failed and resulted in the death of one or both of the infants. The twins were returned home after s...