PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 101

BOOK READING CHALLENGE

BOOK TITLE…….. The Big Picture


AUTHOR………… Dr Ben Carson

Review
Presentation Day 1

Presented by KFUH Kingsley KAN


Hello Beautiful people, greetings, trust you are doing well. I bring to you an amazing Vignette on one of Amazon’s best selling books–The Big Picture by Ben Carson, a piece that gets one into Perspective on what’s really important in Life . Let’s zoom into the first chapter.


<The South African twins…… Why??>


It’s not been upto a decade since the Black American Neurosurgeon successfully separated The Binder Twins at John Hopkins Hospital, now is being presented with a seemingly exciting but very daring offer to be part of the team to separate the Makwaeba craniopagus Siamese twins(twins joined at their heads) at South Africa. We see Carson being faced with a conglomerate of thought patterns notably: He’s worried that the African Hospital in question might not have the caliber of medical equipments needed to perform such complex surgery , that the involved medical personnel might not have the ‘hands on experience ‘ needed to assist him and that trust will be a big issue of concern operating amongst strangers with whom he had no personal history –inside or outside of the operating theatre.


Dr Mokgokong( the inviting Surgeon in South Africa) remains very optimistic and hopes that Dr Ben Carson-who has had a wide array of successful experience in such surgeries could see the silver lining in the clouds and even proposes to purchase ‘state of the art’ equipment for the surgery. Communication grows amongst these two as they jump right in to discussing about the case. It doesn’t take long before Dr Ben Carson finally accepts(after praying) to be part of the team. Preparations commence in the following weeks as they assemble the over fifty to sixty-person multidisciplinary medical team and anticipate the challenges that might arise during the surgery, with their proposed solutions.


I’m sure you just anticipated very right that things move on so well, seeing Dr Ben Carson touch down at the Johannesburg Airport and heads straight to the Medunsa Hospital-to review for himself the Makwaeba twin case with a tentative surgery date being the 4rd April 1994. On arrival he meets these hopefuls in a febrile(not too strong for surgery) state and concludes that it’s necessary to postpone the surgery to June after stabilizing them. In June, the condition has only gotten much more critical than it earlier was so he decides that the surgery holds.


Guess where we are now-in the OR(operating theatre), surgery has started calm and steady, progress is being made in the separation and the atmosphere is hopeful untill the 15th hour into surgery where attempts to salvage the life of the smaller twin go sideways and she dies. At that point, attention is emediately directed to the second (bigger) twin who presently has seemingly stable vitals. Surgery ends and the team is happy they could salvage one twin.


On the second day after surgery however, the second twin develops serious electrolyte disturbances and breathes her last. Dr Ben Carson in frustration becomes very angry, discouraged and is asking God the following: ‘why will you get me in a situation like this where there was never any possibility for success? Why will you allow me to spend so much time and energy in vain and to expose me to such failure?’


What a ride. As I read, I kept asking myself how many times I truly seek God to know his opinions on very challenging decisions like Carson did and if I will be any indifferent or concerned should my decision go unfavorable. Carson Knew that much but will still pray?? Yes. I can too, in a profession that so often than not inflates one’s ego.


Thank you for Reading