ATLANTA — Ben Carson was the keynote speaker for Truett McConnell University’s 10th Anniversary Nursing Gala, a black tie event held Saturday, Oct. 26. The event to celebrate the achievements of the Rielin and Salmen School of Nursing was held at First Baptist Church of Atlanta.
Emir Caner, president of TMU, introduced Carson. Carson served for almost 30 years as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital. He has been a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery and has received dozens of awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is a former candidate for president of the United States, and the 17th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban development. He has written 11 books, the most recent of which was given to each person in attendance at the gala.
Carson spoke highly of the nursing profession, declaring nurses to be “the infantry of medicine.” He explained, “Most health care professionals drop in to see patients, and physicians often find it difficult to be consistently available to those who are hospitalized, but the nurses are always attentive, helpful, supportive and ready to respond to the needs of each patient.”
Carson noted that he had a difficult time as a child and his early years were challenging. His mother got married at age 13 and had only a third-grade education. She moved the family from Tennessee to Detroit, where Carson found out that his father was a bigamist.
Despite all the hardships and limitations, he told his story with snippets of deprecating humor. When he began to have a love for reading, he discovered that knowledge is power and he became known by his classmates as “the bookworm.”
In his book, “The Perilous Fight”, which he co-authored with his wife, Candy, Carson writes, “Every citizen in this nation has the opportunity to elevate themselves and build a legacy if they are willing to put in the effort. I have never met anyone who was a bigger advocate of that than my mother. Sonya Carson absolutely detested the practice of blaming others or making excuses for our problems.”
Carson related how being a voracious reader enable him to excel in school and eventually earn a scholarship to Yale University. He stated, “I learned early on in my career as a neurosurgeon that I was no more than an instrument in the hands of God.”
To illustrate that conviction, Carson told of a young boy who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain stem tumor. “The parents of this child had great faith,” Carson said, “and they indicated that they were looking for a neurosurgeon with the will to become an instrument in the hands of God. They said, ‘The Lord sent us here to find a surgeon who could help us.’”
After looking at the medical scants and tests, Carson told the parents that there was nothing that he or anyone could do to help their son. The fervent pleas of the parents and their insistence that the Lord had led them to Carson convinced him to reluctantly operate on the boy.
Carson said, “I took out as much as I could and closed the incision and went out to speak to the parents, but did not give them any real hope that their child would recover.”
They responded, “Thank you, doctor, but the Lord is going to heal our son.” Carson said that he had seen that kind of faith” declared the physician. Carson expected the boy’s condition to deteriorate, but instead he began to improve. A follow-up scan showed that the tumor was not, as first believed, on the brain stem but rather was pressed against it, compressing it.
The parents agreed to a second surgery, and Carson recalled that “as I pulled away the last layer of tumor there was the brain stem, smashed and displaced, but intact. The boy started to improve and eventually walked out of the hospital and today he is a minister.”
The parents’ strong faith and God’s obvious intervention in the situation got Carson’s attention and he prayed, “Lord, from now on you be the neurosurgeon and I’ll be your hands.”
Carson’s testimony made an impact on those in attendance. Dr. Heather Ayers, chair of the nursing school, said, “Dr. Ben Carson, and his wife, Candy, were delightful and we were truly blessed to hear of his personal and professional experience witnessing the goodness of God. We pray the seeds that were planted during our 10th year anniversary celebration bring forth an abundant harvest for the glory of God for generations to come.”
Dr. Stacy Hall, vice president of marketing and advancement, noted, that Carson “embodies the values, principles, and knowledge that our students seek.”
Caner expressed his gratitude to First Baptist Church of Atlanta for the hospitality and excellent food service. The event raised more than $155,000 in support for the nursing school, which President Caner wants to provide the most modern, proficient educational opportunity for those who are called into the nursing profession and offer them the newest state-of-the-art equipment.