Tribute to Dr. Ben Carson

Today (September 18) is Dr. Ben Carson's 71st birthday. Few have come even close to accomplishing as much for medicine and humanity as he has. In 1984, at age 33, he became the youngest director of pediatric neurosurgery in the US at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore. Ben became famous after he led a team of surgeons in the first separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head. Although the surgery was successful, the twins didn't survive due to subsequent neurological/medical complications. Later sets of twins survived successful separations. Dr. Carson was also the first to perform a neurosurgical procedure on a fetus inside the womb. His additional medical accomplishments include developing new methods to treat brain-stem tumors and revitalizing hemispherectomy techniques in which part or all of one hemisphere of the brain is removed to control severe pediatric epilepsy seizures. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson]

In addition to his medical accomplishments he served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during the Trump administration. His childhood experiences while being raised by his single mom (Sonya Carson) and living in public housing in Detroit for a while provided him with real-world qualifications for the job.

"The Carson Scholars Fund supports two main initiatives: The Carson Scholars Program and The Ben Carson Reading Project." Their website describes these programs. "Our scholarship program awards students who have embraced high levels of academic excellence and community service with $1,000 college scholarships. The Ben Carson Reading Project provides funding to schools to build and maintain Ben Carson Reading Rooms – warm, inviting rooms where children can discover the joy of independent leisure reading."

A new nonprofit founded by the Carsons (American Cornerstone Institute--Faith.Liberty.Community.Life) supports a number of projects including Little Patriots Learning.