A former colleague of Dr. Ben Carson recalled being told the story of the future presidential candidate’s botched attempt to stab a boy in 1987, before Carson’s fame carried the story to a wider audience through his autobiography and movie adaptation.
Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon, credits the incident, including his shock and subsequent prayers that it never happens again, as a turning point in his life–affirming his Christian faith and allowing him to overcome his temperamental obstacles to his future success.
According to a story and audio posted on Baltimore’s WBAL NewsRadio 1090AM website:
Dr. Robert Prince, who is an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist was a medical resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1987, when he worked with Carson, who was then a pediatric neurosurgeon.
On the Jimmy Mathis Show Sunday, Prince said that Carson told the story late one night after they finished an operation and they were waiting for the patient to come out of anesthesia.
Prince said the incident came up in a discussion of what led Carson to become a physician. Prince said that subject is a common topic among doctors.
Dr. Prince says that he has not read Carson’s 1990 book Gifted Hands or seen the movie, and was only reminded of the conversation by CNN’s attempts to discredit the story this week. WBAL added:
Prince said that he cannot understand why Carson would make up such a story.
“I thought why would he tell lowly me, before he could possibly have known he would be a famous neurosurgeon if it wasn’t true,” Prince added.
Dr. Carson has been able to rebut the media’s attacks this week, including one story completely fabricated by Kyle Cheney of Politico.