Gifted Hands

Anyone happen to catch Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story on TNT? If you didn't, you really missed out. And if you watched it, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that it was one of the most uplifting and inspiring films I've ever seen. Seriously, just watching it made me want to work harder and be a better person.

I don't typically watch made-for-tv movies. But when I heard that Ben Carson's autobiography, Gifted Hands, was being adapted for television, I got very excited. You see, Dr. Carson was the keynote speaker at my college graduation and he has one of the most amazing life stories...

Benjamin S. Carson Sr., M.D., had a childhood dream of becoming a physician. But he grew up in a single-parent home, with dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible temper and low self-esteem. While that appeared to preclude the realization of his dream, his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged both of her sons to strive for excellence. Carson persevered and today is a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and he has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for nearly a quarter of a century.

Carson’s career highlights include the first separation of craniopagus conjoined twins joined at the back of the head in 1987, the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa and the first successful placement of an intrauterine shunt for a hydrocephalic twin.

Carson holds more than 50 honorary doctorate degrees. In 2001, Carson was named by CNN and Time as one of the nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists. That same year, he was selected by the Library of Congress as one of 89 Living Legends on the occasion of its 200th anniversary. He is also the recipient of the 2006 Spingarn Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP. In February 2008, Carson was presented with the Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal by President Bush at the White House. And in June 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the land. He has literally received hundreds of other awards during his distinguished career.

Gifted Hands was so good that I watched it twice - back to back. If you missed it or are just hearing about it, check the TNT schedule to see when you can catch a re-run. I highly recommend it...if Gifted Hands was a beauty product, it would be a 'holy grail.'