Ben Carson is a famous surgeon, who is well known for the surgeries he has performed to separate conjoined twins. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on September 18, 1951 to Sonya and Robert Carson. Sonya came from a poor Baptist family, and had married Robert at the age of 13. When she found out her husband had another wife and family, she left him and took her two sons Curtis and Ben with her. Thus, Ben and his brother grew up in impoverished financial circumstances. Their mother worked many jobs, usually as a domestic servant, and for very long hours. It was often days before Ben and his brother saw their mother. The boys would wear second hand clothing, and eat produce obtained from the local farmers market in exchange for working on the farm.
Ben and Curtis initially went through a very difficult time at school. They went to a predominantly white school, and would sometimes be teased by their classmates. Ben developed a nasty temper and would often get into fights with his classmates. He was also a low achiever academically, and ranked at the bottom of his class, which led to more teasing by the other children. Sonya, however, was determined to see her sons do better at school, so she took their education into her own hands. She prohibited them to watch television, except for two programs a week. She also frequently took them to the public library and made them read two books per week. The boys had to write book reports on what they had read which their mother then checked.
Ironically enough, Sonya had only studied till 3rd grade, and could hardly read what her sons had written. However, the boys soon got into the habit of reading and began to enjoy it. Remarkably enough, Ben Carson went from being at the bottom of his class, to being the highest achiever, which earned him a certificate of merit. He graduated with honors from high school, and earned a scholarship to attend Yale University. He had to work through college to pay off his debt, but he managed to earn a degree in psychology in 1973. After graduating from Yale, he enrolled at the University of Michigan to become a neurosurgeon.
He graduated from medical school, and was chosen to be a resident at Johns Hopkins University. Within 5 years, he had become the chief resident in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. In 1983, he was invited to work at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia. He accepted the offer, and gained tremendous experience working in Australia. He returned to Johns Hopkins a year later, and was chosen to be the director of pediatric neurosurgery there. He was only 33 years old at the time.
Dr. Carson has become well known for performing surgeries to separate conjoined twins, including a case to separate adult twins. He has had a good degree of success, although some of the surgeries resulted in partial brain damage or death. However, he has made huge advances in the field and is known as one of the most well respected surgeons of his time. He has performed famous surgeries in Germany, Zambia, Singapore etc. Because of his unwavering contribution to medicine, he has received more than 50 honorary doctorates and is a member of many distinguished boards. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer but has made a full recovery. He has also written a number of books, and a documentary has also been made about his life. Ben Carson has now turned to politics, and has launched an official bid for a presidential nomination.
