The amazing, true story of how an inner-city youth beat the odds stacked against him, and has been helping others find hope ever since. The planning took five months. The operation itself - complex, delicate and groundbreaking - lasted twenty tow hours, and the outcome was an unprecedented triumph. For his role in the first successful separation of Siamese twins joined at the back of the head, Dr. Ben Carson gained worldwide recognition. Carson pioneered again in a rare procedure known as a hemispherectomy, giving children without hope a second chance at life through a daring operation in which he literally removed one half of their brain. Such breakthroughs arenʼt unusual for Ben Carson. Heʼs been beating the odds since he was a child. Raised in inner-city Detroit by a single mother with a third-grade education, Ben lacked motivation. He had terrible grades. And a pathological temper threatened to put him in jail. But Sonya Carson convinced her son that he could make something of his life even thought everything around him said otherwise. Trust in god, a relentless belief in his own capabilities, and sheer determination catapulted Ben from failing grades to the top of his class - and beyond to a Yale scholarship; the University of Michigan Medical School; and finally, at age thirty-three, the directorship of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Maryland. Today Dr. Carson holds more than forty honorary doctorates and is the possessor of a long string of honors and awards. In 2001, on the occasion of its 200th anniversary, the Library of Congress named him as one of eighty-nine Living Legends. Gifted Hands is the riveting story of one manʼs secret for success, tested against daunting odds and driven by an incredible mindset that dares to take risks. This inspiring autobiography takes you into the operating room to witness surgeries that made headlines around the world - and into the private mind of a compassionate, God-fearing physician who lives to help others. Through it all shines humility, a quick wit and a down-to-earth style that makes a story you wonʼt easily forget.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.