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(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
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(WATER RUNNING)
(SPEAKING GERMAN)
(WOMAN SPEAKING GERMAN OVER PA)
(HISSING)
Scissors.
Clamp.
(PHONE BEEPING)
O.R. Dr. Rogers for Dr. Carson.
Doctor?
Yes? Ben, it's Mark.
I need to see you up in my office.
A special-needs case just came in.
Okay. Soon as I'm done.
They were born by cesarean three months ago,
and, against all odds, they're still alive.
Their physician from West Germany called me this morning.
Occipital craniopagus twins have never both survived a separation.
Yeah. He knows that.
If they're not separated...
...they'll spend the rest of their lives in bed, on their backs.
The hospital wants me to fly to Germany and examine them.
Ben, are you gonna do this?
Nobody's ever done it.
In situations like this, one baby always dies.
MAN: Welcome to Germany.
We've been anxiously awaiting your arrival, Dr. Carson.
Allow me to introduce Peter and Augusta Rausch.
(INDISTINCT)
Thank you for coming.
How do you do, Doctor? My pleasure.
And this is Johann and Stefan.
I wanted to kill myself when I learned the truth,
but I realized I would be killing two other beings, too.
And then, as soon as I saw them, my heart melted.
Please don't ask us to choose between them.
Well, they don't appear to be sharing any organs, which is good.
Though there are parts of the brain, such as the vision center,
that aren't completely separated.
We won't know until we get in there.
How soon can that be?
Well, first we have to solve the problem of exsanguination.
Exsan...
Bleeding to death.
It's the reason why cranial separations have never succeeded.
You see, babies have very little blood,
and unless I can figure out a way to keep them from bleeding out,
I can't risk performing this operation.
(INHALES SHARPLY)
I'll do it.
Good.
Thank you. I'll notify the doctor in Germany.
We'll schedule the operation for a month from now?
Make it two. Make it four.
Still haven't figured out how to save them both, huh?
(SIGHING)
I'm working on it.
Number 12, 14. Number 13, 27.
Number 15, 33.
All right, class, hand your test back to your neighbor.
All right, how many did you get right?
Kathy?
Twenty-five.
That's excellent, Kathy.
Mark? Thirty.
Good for you, Mark. You got them all right.
Benjamin?
Benjamin, how many did you get right?
None. Nine?
Why, Benjamin, that's wonderful. I'm so proud of you.
Not nine, Miss Williamson. He got none.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
(SCHOOL BELL RINGING)
You'd think he'd get at least one right.
He got one right last time, 'cause he was trying to put down the wrong answer.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
Hey, Carson, we know you're the dumbest kid in the class,
but did you hear what they said on Cronkite last night on the news?
You're the dumbest kid in the world.
(CHILDREN GASPING)
He hit him! He hit him!
PRINCIPAL: Bennie, how could this have been an accident?
Well, it was almost an accident.
Mom, I never would have hit him if I remembered I had the lock in my hand.
The boy had five stitches, and his parents are very upset.
I'm not sure how to discipline your son, Mrs. Carson.
I'll handle it.
I'm also very concerned about his grades.
Have you seen his latest report card?
SONYA: So, what happened? You weren't getting grades like that in Boston.
Boston was easier. They didn't ask us to do much.
Well, I ain't asking you, either, I'm telling you.
You weren't meant to be a failure, Bennie.
And you can control your temper. He called me a dummy...
And you can bring your grades up, too. I know you can.
I'm dumb, Mother. No, you ain't.
You're a smart boy. Listen to me. Listen to me.
You just ain't using that smartness.
Now, if you keep getting grades like that,
you're gonna spend the rest of your life mopping floors in a factory.
And that ain't the life I want for you.
That ain't the life God wants for you, either.
Yes, Mother.
I'm gonna have to have a talk with him about you and your brother, Curtis.
No, no. He invited us to the game tonight, remember?
Why don't you and I go? And get me Candlestick Park, please.
(DOOR OPENING)
Hey, Mother. You're home early.
They didn't need me as long as they said they would.
You finish your homework?
Most of it.
SONYA: Bennie, you're gonna ruin your eyes sitting so close to this TV.
(TURNS OFF TV)
You do your homework?
BEN: I need help.
Curtis, help your brother.
CURTIS: I gotta finish my math.
Mother, I need help.
What you need help with?
This history. I don't really understand it.
Well, what don't you understand?
Like, all the words.
Could you read this for me?
I need new reading glasses. Why don't you tell me what it's about?
It's about Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence.
Mmm-hmm.
What is this word?
Sound it out.
"Self... Self...
"And it..."
Self...
Look at me.
Can you tell me what them cereal boxes is on the shelf?
Sure.
I mean, can you read them?
Not this far. Can you?
(SIGHING)
Looks like I ain't the only one around here gonna be needing glasses.
Tina, Sarah, Kathy, Bennie.
Congratulations. You're doing much better.
Yes!
SONYA: Well, it's an improvement, all right.
And I'm proud of you for not getting an F.
You're a smart boy.
But you both can do better.
I'm doing the best I can, Mother.
How? I don't know how.
Well, I don't know how.
We're just gonna have to use our imagination.
I don't got one.
Of course you do. Everybody got an imagination.
Not me.
Of course you do.
Listen to me. If I say,
"Once upon a time, there was a little blue mouse,"
don't you see a little blue mouse?
No. Bennie.
Mother, my brain's too dumb.
Boy, your brain ain't dumb.
It is, Mom.
You got all the world in here.
You just got to see beyond what you can see.
MAN ON TV: What is this, a race of some kind?
WOMAN ON TV: Betty, slow down.
You act as though this were your last meal.
We've got to write your contest essay tonight, Father.
MAN ON TV: Oh, well, in that case, maybe you had better hurry.
(PHONE RINGS ON TV)
MAN ON TV: Don't choke. WOMAN ON TV: I'll get it.
I never saw it to fail.
Every time we sit down to eat, the phone rings.
GIRL ON TV: I know how to stop it, Daddy.
When the phone bill comes, don't pay it.
MAN ON TV: Not a bad idea.
BOY ON TV: That was Joe Phillips, Dad.
He wants me to come up to his uncle's farm this weekend.
Isn't that great?
But how are you gonna get there?
Joe's got a license. We could drive.
The last time he took a trip, he wrecked his dad's car.
Whose car is he figuring on wrecking this time?
BOY ON TV: Yours.
He thought...
I know what he thought.
But I wouldn't trust Joe Phillips with a pogo stick.
Please, Dad. I'll be careful.
How can you be careful if he's driving?
You never let me do anything.
I'm not gonna let you do this.
You'd think I was a juvenile or something.
When you act this way, you are.
Now eat your dinner.
I'm not hungry.
Then excuse yourself and leave the table.
(DOOR OPENING)
Mother, come on, we'll be late for church.
You all go on ahead without me, honey.
Mama's having one of her days.
All right.
I'm reminded of the story of the missionary doctor and his wife
who were surprised by bandits.
You see, these thieves were terrible men.
Bloodthirsty. Vicious. They not only robbed their victims,
they slit their throats and laughed as they watched them die.
You all don't hear me.
This poor doctor and his wife ran for their lives
as the thieves chased them across rocky, barren land.
These missionaries' feet were cut open by sharp stones.
Their clothes were torn by brambles,
and, finally, they came upon a great fortress,
but the Bandit King was right behind them.
The doctor ran up to the front door of the fortress and tried to open it.
But it was locked.
If only someone would let them in. No one was there.
And the doctor and his wife hid,
but the Bandit King saw them and drew his sword.
There appeared to be nothing that could save God's good people.
(SQUEAKING)
(HORSE NEIGHING)
The Bandit King was after me, and so I hid under some straw,
and a blue mouse came out and scared his horse.
And I got away. I saw it in my brain.
That's good. That's your imagination working.
But it was real, it was really real.
Did I say it wasn't real? It's not real.
That's why it's called imagination, dummy.
Shut up.
Watch your mouth, Curtis.
Mother, I want to be a doctor.
A missionary doctor, just like the one Pastor Ford told us about.
You can be anything you want to be in this life,
as long as you're willing to work at it.
That goes for you, too, Curtis.
God will not abandon you.
(CHURCH BELL TOLLING)
Excuse me.
I need to talk to someone.
I have a darkness I can't control.
Come with me, ma'am. Let's see if we can help you. All right?
SONYA: I've spent my childhood in foster care.
When my husband, Mr. Carson, married me,
he was my ticket out of there.
How old were you?
Thirteen.
We were happy.
We had a lovely home, two beautiful boys.
Then what?
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
I don't like to talk about it.
He had another wife and kids.
When I found out, my life fell apart.
When was this, Mrs. Carson?
Five years back.
But I couldn't leave my husband
'cause my boys needed their daddy
and I didn't know how I'd make it on my own.
Are you still together?
No.
I found out he was dealing drugs,
so me and the boys moved to Boston.
I've got a sister there.
Why'd you come back to Detroit?
I got the house in the divorce, and I kept it.
I rent it out for income,
but I've been saving money in a cookie jar,
and me and my boys are gonna move back in.
How do you support yourself?
I clean houses, and I baby-sit.
That's about all I can do.
Nobody knows this.
I'm so dumb,
I can't even read.
And I fear my boys are gonna turn out the same way.
And nothing's gonna work out.
I try to fight these feelings.
I don't show them to Bennie and Curtis.
But, lately,
I can't stop them.
I even think about killing myself.
Mrs. Carson, what would you say to checking yourself in with us?
No. Just for a little while.
I can't afford to do anything like...
Don't think about the money.
We'll find the money.
Boys, I'm gonna be going away for a little while.
What? What do you mean?
Where?
Just for a few weeks.
I'm going back to Boston to see your aunt Jean Avery.
Can't we come with you? No.
You got school. You got homework.
So, you're just gonna leave us alone?
Of course not.
Sister Scott is gonna come and stay with you.
In the meantime, I want you boys to do me a favor.
I want you both to learn your times tables while I'm gone.
What? No way!
You can do it.
Do you know how many there are?
That could take a year.
Won't take my boys a year. You're smart.
Not that smart. Nobody can memorize them.
I did, and I just went to the third grade.
But it's hard work.
Well,
hard work ain't never hurt nobody.
Besides, you ain't going outside to play till you learn them tables.
Wait. Mother, please, no. Come on, that's not fair.
Come on, Mother. You're the meanest mom in the world.
(MEN SINGING ON TV)
CURTIS: Five times four.
Thirty.
No.
Thirty-one?
This isn't a guessing game, Bennie.
Bennie, listen to your brother.
Here you are, Mrs. Phillman.
MRS. PHILLMAN: Thank you.
NURSE: Mildred? MILDRED: No.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
MISS WILLIAMSON: Kathy?
Twenty-two.
MISS WILLIAMSON: Mark?
Twenty-five out of 25.
Excellent.
Benjamin?
I didn't cheat.
I didn't say you did. What's your score?
Twenty-four out of 25.
(CHILDREN EXCLAIMING)
BEN: Sister Scott! Sister Scott!
I got an A!
I got an A.
Sister Scott! Sister Scott!
I got... Mother!
(CHUCKLING)
I missed you. I missed you.
(SIGHING) I missed you, too.
I know all my times tables. I got them all right, except for one.
Let me see.
I knew you could do it.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Professor Burket, I'm Mrs. Carson, your new cleaning woman.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Mrs. Carson.
Sir?
The kitchen floor.
What about it?
It sparkles.
Well, your last cleaning lady didn't do a very good job.
What I do, I do the best I can.
The last cleaning lady was me.
My late wife was very sick.
I took care of her and not much else.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Sir.
Did you read all these books?
Most of them. Why?
Just curious.
Take the rest of your men off the post.
They can stay with Corporal Dolan's family
in Salt Lake till Barker's gone.
SOLDIER: Yes, sir. Come to think of it,
you better stay there yourself.
SOLDIER: Yes, sir.
Hey, why'd you do that for?
What's going on? I was watching that.
You boys watch too much television.
Not that much. No more than everybody else.
Don't worry about everybody else.
This whole world is full of everybody else.
From now on, you're gonna pick three,
no, two pre-selected programs per week.
A week?
You're crazy. I mean, this is crazy.
And that's after you finish your homework.
What are we gonna do with all our free time?
I'm glad you asked. You're gonna go to the library and pick out two books,
and, at the end of the week,
you're gonna hand me a written report about what you read.
Two books a week?
I don't believe what you're saying.
I can't even read one. We cannot possibly survive
without television.
Well, you're gonna start now.
Why you waste all that time watching the TV?
If you used that time to develop your God-given gifts,
it wouldn't be long before folks was watching you on TV.
* Mama said there'll be days like this
* "There'll be days like this," mama said
* Mama said, mama said
* Mama said there'll be days like this
* "There'll be days like this," my mama said
* Mama said, mama said
* I went walking the other day
* Everything was goin' fine
* I met a little boy named Billy-Joe
* And then almost lost my mind *
Man, there's a lot of books in here.
Shut up, boy. It's a library.
(TIGER GROWLING)
BEN: "Hearing the great roar
"made the young man wonder if he had chosen wisely.
"Maybe it was a trick.
"Was there really a tiger, or just a recording of a tiger's roar?
"Maybe there was a tiger behind the other door,
"and he'd die like all the other princes before him."
That's good, Bennie. That's real good.
Mother, what's this word?
I need to get new reading glasses. Sound it out.
Ag... Ag...
Agriculture. A-G-R-I-C-U-L-T-U-R-E.
Agriculture. Excellent, Benjamin.
Kathy. "Combine."
Combine. C-O-M-B-I-N-E. Combine.
For a 20-point bonus, here's your toss-up.
You know, several limericks begin,
"There was a young lady from Perth."
Limerick is in Ireland. For 10 points, where is Perth?
(BUZZER SOUNDING)
MAN: Australia.
Wow. How could they know so much?
QUIZMASTER: Right, for 10 points. I don't know.
And, finally, for 10 points, what poet describes...
(WONDERFUL WOR PLAYING)
* Don't know much about history
* Don't know much biology
Bennie, come on, we're gonna be late.
* Don't know much about the French I took
* But I do know that I love you
* And I know that if you love me too
* What a wonderful world this would be
Excuse me. Do you have any books on rocks?
* Don't know much trigonometry
* Don't know much about algebra *
Okay, class,
what about this one? Does anybody know what this is?
Anybody?
Yes, Benjamin,
can you identify this rock?
It's obsidine.
Obsidian. That's right.
Do you know how it was made?
Well, it was formed after a volcanic eruption,
by the supercooling of the lava when it hits the water.
The volcano erupts, and the lava flows down red hot.
So, when it hits the water, the elements coalesce,
and since that water is cold, the air is forced out,
and the surface glazes over, and the lava becomes hard,
and that makes obsidine. I mean obsidian, sorry.
May I see you after class?
(SIGHING)
What happened?
I'm sorry.
What are you sorry for? Someone unlocked the door.
Look at this.
You know what that is?
That's a whole other world, Benjamin.
You just stepped into a whole other world.
Magnitude. M-A-G-N-I-T-U-D-E. Magnitude.
Mark. "Perpetuate."
Perpetuate.
"The feast
"of unleavened...
"The un..."
Unleavened.
Yeah.
CURTIS: B, come on. I gotta go.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Bennie, are you in there?
What potion had a sort of mixed flavor of cherry tart, custard, pineapple...
Alice In Wonderland.
The potion which Alice in Wonderland drank,
which made her grow into various sizes.
Tell me, when Cain settled down east of Eden, in what land did he live?
In the land of Nod! MAN ON TV: In the land of Nod.
QUIZMASTER: Right. For 10 points. How many tales in The Canterbury Tales?
Twenty-four. QUIZMASTER: Right.
Twenty-point bonus. A 20-point bonus coming up. Here's your toss-up.
A leading major-league baseball player and the layer of the earth between...
Mantle. Mickey Mantle.
Right. Between the crust and the core...
Wow, you were there before I had the question.
Okay. Rutgers, for 20 points.
"Saunter."
Saunter.
S-A-U-N-T-E-R. Saunter.
"Lacquer."
Lacquer.
L-A-C-
K-E-R. Lacquer.
Sorry, Cliff.
Benjamin, if you spell it correctly, you win.
(EXHALING)
Lacquer.
L-A-C-Q-U-E-R. Lacquer.
That is correct.
Yes! Yes!
The certificate for the student with the highest academic achievement
in the eighth grade goes to Benjamin Carson.
Before Benjamin takes his seat,
I have a few words I want to say.
Benjamin is a boy of color.
He has no father in his life.
He comes to us with tremendous disadvantages.
There's no reason you shouldn't have done better than him.
What's wrong with you kids? You're not trying hard enough.
You should be ashamed.
(CROWD MUTTERING)
The certificate for outstanding citizenship goes to Alexa Courtney.
QUIZMASTER: Right, for 10 points.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
All right, here's a 20-point bonus, Brandeis.
Identify the composer.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
WOMAN: Vivaldi.
QUIZMASTER: That's right, for 10 points.
This picture by Monet would be classified as French Impressionism.
For 10 points, how is this picture classified?
WOMAN: Primitive American.
QUIZMASTER: That's right.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
MRS. GRAHAM: Turn off that thing!
I'll turn it down.
No, I like it. Turn it up.
(INCREASING VOLUME)
Won't Mrs. Graham knock on the ceiling again?
Let her knock. We're moving.
(KNOCKING ON CEILING)
(MRS. GRAHAM SHOUTING INCOHERENTLY)
We're moving?
Uh-huh.
That speech your eighth-grade teacher gave ticked me off,
so I went to the bank.
I've finally saved up enough money
to take back that house we've been renting out.
So, starting next fall, you're going to a school that appreciates you.
(HITCH HIK PLAYING)
* I'm going to Chicago
* That's the last place my baby stayed
* Hitch hike, hitch hike, baby
* I'm packing up my bags
Hey, Carl, you heard what Goodwill did
with all the clothes so old and so ugly
even the winos didn't want them?
CARL: What?
They gave them to New Blood over there.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Do we have any money left?
What do you mean?
I need clothes for school.
You got clothes for school.
Old clothes.
Good clothes.
Not good enough for Hunter High.
I've seen the clothes them kids wear. They're cheap.
No, they're not.
I didn't say they weren't expensive. I said they're cheap.
Most folks that wear cheap clothes on the outside are dead on the inside.
The folks I work for, they buy clothes that last.
That's what I try to get you.
Take Professor Burket. I wash his clothes every week, and they always...
Bennie, don't you be slamming around here,
and don't you walk away when I'm talking to you!
Hey, Carl, they should use Carson's shirt in class as a chemistry lesson.
A chemistry lesson? Yeah,
'cause it smelled so bad it killed all the bugs that was breeding inside of it.
They was breeding because your mama wore it.
I think you're confusing that with your mama.
Her clothes are so raggedy, even the mummy turned them down.
Your mama's so old, she's the mummy's mama.
Your mama's so old, your daddy's a dinosaur.
Your mama's so old, her birth certificate says "expired" on it.
(CLEARING THROAT) Oh!
Man, where we going?
Come on.
You got the money?
BEN: I need clothes for school.
SONYA: You got clothes for school.
Not good enough for Hunter High.
Come on.
Jerome.
This is my man.
Give him the money.
Okay.
Morning.
Why aren't you wearing the pants I got you? Don't they fit?
I don't know. I didn't try them on.
Why not? They're the wrong kind.
What you mean, they're the wrong kind?
I paid good money for them pants.
That's too bad. You can take them back if you want.
I can't take them back. I bought them on special.
Well, that's too bad, but I'm not gonna wear them.
I'm fixing this window myself, Bennie,
so I'd have money to get you them pants.
That's your problem.
Look, throw them away! I'm not gonna wear them!
You can't have everything in life you want, Bennie.
I can! I will! Not as long as you keep going
down this path. Talking smart and acting stupid!
Well, if I didn't know any better... Shut up! Shut up!
All you do is preach at me! Shut up!
Bennie!
What are you, crazy? Get off! Get off!
I said stop it! All right, all right!
You can buy whatever you want.
You pay the bills, you pay the bills next month.
I'll bring home every dime I make in cash and hand it to you.
What you got left, you keep for yourself.
Now you're talking.
(SIGHING)
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
Hey, B.
What's this crap?
It's not crap, all right.
Shut up.
You like this? You call this music?
It's better than what you like.
(CHANGING RADIO STATIONS)
Hey, man, quit proving how stupid you are.
You don't have to act so ignorant!
Go to hell, man.
What'd you say to me?
Get off me!
(GRUNTING)
(SCREAMING)
Bennie, what did you do?
GIRL: Joe.
Get a teacher or something.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Lord. Lord, you have to take this temper away from me.
Please. Please. Just take it.
* Jesus is all the world to me
* My life, my joy, my all
* He is my strength from day to day
* Without him I would fall
* When I am sad...
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)
TV ANNOUNCER: The protesters are here in Central Park, 50,000 strong.
And there has been a significant showing...
* Heading on out of Tucson
* With the sun setting over my head
* I can smell a load of trouble comin' round the bend
* Drivin' through the night to Dawson
* With the full moon lighting my way... *
It is, in my opinion, the most amazing organ the human body holds.
By stimulating one section of the brain of an 85-year-old,
you can bring back, verbatim,
memories of a newspaper article read 60 years before.
Consider your own brains.
They've absorbed and digested enough information to bring you here,
which is no small achievement.
Your dreams are all possible because of three pounds of gray matter.
We can describe it physically,
but that won't give a clue as to how it does what it does.
Which is why I've devoted my life, as a surgeon, to probing its mysteries.
How did you do that?
A lot of time away from home, my wife would tell you.
But dedication and intelligence are the easy part.
You also need an incredible hand-eye coordination, which is a gift.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
A brain surgeon? My goodness. Well, I always said you can do
anything anybody else can do, Bennie.
Anything anybody else can do, Bennie.
Only you can do it better. Only you can do it better.
Don't laugh at me, it's true.
Your grades are good?
They're fine.
Now, tell me, how's that girlfriend of yours?
BEN: My mother says hi.
I can't wait to meet her.
You think she's coming for Parents Weekend?
Not if I'm not here.
What? What are you talking about?
Candy, you're a triple major.
I'm having trouble with just one.
Trouble?
Yale's too much for me.
What am I doing here, anyway?
You got a scholarship. You were third in your class.
Yeah, and everybody else here graduated first.
My grades are lousy, especially chemistry.
If I don't pass this final exam, I lose my scholarship,
which means I can't be a doctor,
which is the only thing... Slow down.
What are you good at?
Huh?
What are you good at? When it comes to studying, what works best for you?
I don't know.
Reading. I'm good at reading. If all I ever did was read, I'd be just fine.
Instead, I got to sit through all these boring lectures
eight hours a day...
Well, skip the lectures.
The professors don't care.
That'll only make things worse.
They can't be any worse than they are now.
Hey, what do I know? Maybe I'm just...
No, no, no. No, you're right.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Joseph Lister.
Pioneered the compound microscope,
and made surgeons wear clean gloves and swab wounds with carbolic acid.
CANDY: Newton's second law.
BEN: An applied force on an object
equals the time change of rate of its momentum.
The formula for methane.
CANDY: No.
BEN: Propane. CANDY: No.
(SIGHS)
(INNER CITY BLUES (MAKE ME WANNA HOLLER) PLAYING)
* Rockets, moon shots
* Spend it on the have-nots
* Money, we make it...
(CHALK SCREECHING ON BLACKBOARD)
SONYA: Finish them.
You don't need the book.
You got the book inside you.
(GROANING)
Well, congratulations, Mr. Carson.
You have arrived with seconds to spare.
Everyone, open your test booklets.
And begin.
Maybe we should ask. Right?
See you guys later.
What? What? What?
I got an A.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Now, you know, now that I'm gonna be a neurosurgeon,
you shouldn't marry me 'cause I probably won't be home much.
Is that a promise?
DR. UDVARHELYI: Johns Hopkins accepts only two students a year
for neurosurgery residency.
This year, we have 125 applicants.
So, why we should take you?
I have good grades and excellent recommendations.
As do all of our applicants.
Johns Hopkins is my first choice. It's my only choice.
You have confidence. Yes, that's good in a neurosurgeon.
But tell me something,
why did you decide to become a brain doctor?
The brain...
(STUTTERS)
It's a miracle.
Do you believe in miracles?
Not a lot of doctors do. There's not a lot of faith among physicians.
I mean, we study reports,
we cut open bodies, it's all very tangible, solid.
But the fact is, there's still so many things we just can't explain.
I believe we're all capable of performing miracles, up here.
I believe we're all blessed with astonishing gifts and skills.
Look at Handel.
I mean, how can he compose something like the Messiah in only three weeks?
This is the channel,
the source, the inspiration for unbelievable accomplishments.
You like classical music?
I love it.
I do, too.
I think we'll get on quite well together.
(INAUDIBLE)
WOMAN ON PA: Nursing supervisor to second floor, please.
Good morning.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Good morning.
You're late. Mr. Schwartz in 301 needs to be taken to surgery now.
No, I'm not an orderly. I'm the new intern.
Oh!
Report to Dr. Farmington for rounds.
WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Carl, please call 2-4-8-8.
This young man has a disease called von Hippel-Lindau.
It's very rare and causes multiple tumors throughout the brain.
He has his second surgery tomorrow,
and it will most likely cripple him.
Carson, draw some blood.
Doctor, according to his charts, he may be anemic.
I don't think... Well, I don't care what you think.
You do as I say.
Don't think you're special, Carson,
simply 'cause there's no one like you in this department.
If you don't change your attitude,
I'll get you kicked out of neurosurgery faster than you can say, "Yassuh."
Are you finished?
Yes.
Fine.
Hey, buddy. Let's get you going here.
(SIGHING)
How was it?
Bennie?
Ben?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Good morning.
Good morning, Nurse Smith.
(ALARMS RINGING)
BEN: He was hit with a baseball bat. He's deteriorating rapidly.
Please tell him that all the neurosurgeons at Hopkins are away at a conference.
I am a resident.
It is illegal for me to operate
without an attending physician present.
I can't reach Dr. Farmington, and I can't reach Dr. Udvarhelyi.
If someone doesn't operate on this man soon, he will die.
Go for it.
I'm not qualified to do a lobectomy.
Thy will be done, Lord. Amen.
(MACHINES HUMMING)
Scalpel.
Foley.
Bipolar.
Cottonoids, please.
WOMAN ON PA: Radiology, please call to page.
Dr. Udvarhelyi wants to see you in his office ASAP.
You operated on this man without permission, without supervision.
You put this hospital in serious legal jeopardy.
Had this man died, your career would have been over.
You did very well, Dr. Carson.
I congratulate you on taking the proper action,
in spite of its possible consequences.
Okay, come on, move, move. She's seizing.
I want you to see it, too. Okay.
MARIA: Okay, okay.
They'll give you something to make you better.
MAN: I don't have... MAN 1: Okay, all right.
It's getting worse, Doctor.
Just relax, relax.
Ben, have a look at this.
The patient's a four-year-old by the name of Cynthia Gonzalez.
She's been having seizures since she was 18 months.
She now has about 100 a day.
They only affect her right side, but they're so frequent,
she's forgetting how to walk, talk, eat, learn.
She's been diagnosed with Rasmussen's.
Her parents have been told there's nothing to be done.
(OPERA MUSIC PLAYING)
It's the only time she's seizure-free.
When she's awake, she lives between convulsions.
She's been on 35 different medications over the years.
Sometimes they're so strong, she doesn't recognize me.
She's beautiful.
MARIA: One doctor called her a mentally-retarded epileptic.
BEN: Well, I'm here to tell you that she's not.
Do you really think you can help?
I can try.
The left side of Cynthia's brain
is like a troubled kid on a playground
beating up on her own twin.
Now, you control that kid, and the playground's at peace.
How do we do that?
There's an operation called a hemispherectomy.
It involves removing the seizure-prone part of the brain.
What?
How will she be able to live or survive
with half a brain?
It's not as bad as it sounds.
We don't know why,
but a child's brain has a remarkable ability to recover.
It's as if the brain cells haven't decided what they want to be when they grow up.
They take on the functions of the diseased cells
and then eventually restore the neurological function.
You think there's a chance this will work?
Yes. I do.
But it is a gamble. There's no way around that.
If Cynthia survives, she could be paralyzed on her right side.
The left side of the brain controls the speech area.
She may lose her ability to speak.
Have you done one of these operations yourself?
No. I have not.
How you feeling?
Wishing it were four months from now.
Why? So we can get less sleep than we do now?
Good night.
Your mother called today.
She said the movers are coming in a week. She's so excited.
Me, too.
So, are you ready?
For my mother or two more babies?
For tomorrow.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Scalpel.
We are now exposing the skull.
Put more pressure on the edge, please.
Drill.
(DRILL MACHINE WHIRRING)
Please change to a footplate.
Saw.
(WHIRRING)
Penfield 3.
Removing the skull to access the dura.
Holding skull flap for reconstruction.
We need to reduce the swelling.
Inserting to relieve fluid pressure.
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
I've removed the entire left hemisphere of the brain.
ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Cynthia, can you hear me?
Can you open your eyes, sweetheart? We're all done.
Let's see those pretty eyes, sweetheart. Come on.
It's time to wake up, Cynthia.
Let's see those pretty eyes, sweetheart.
Can you open your eyes?
Let's see those pretty eyes. We're all done now.
I don't know why she's not waking up, Ben.
(MACHINE BEEPING RHYTHMICALLY)
(DOOR OPENING)
How is she?
It took twice as long as we thought.
She lost nine pints of blood,
which is double her normal volume.
But she came through just fine.
Though it might be a while before we know if she can move or speak.
CYNTHIA: Mommy?
Daddy?
Oh, my God.
(LAUGHS)
(MARIA SNIFFLING)
MARIA: I love you.
(SIGHING)
Thank you.
Baby.
She talks, she hears, she thinks, she responds.
There are no additional signs of weakness.
Dr. Carson... MALE REPORTER: Dr. Carson, how is this possible?
BEN: The brain's a miraculous organ.
(ALL CLAMORING)
MALE REPORTER: How long have you been practicing?
I completed my residency three years ago,
but I haven't yet taken my oral exams.
FEMALE REPORTER: Are there any more seizures, Doctor?
BEN: So far, the seizures have subsided.
Grandma!
Grandma! Grandma!
Baby.
SONYA: Your daddy...
Hey.
CANDY: You're gonna love it here.
(GROANING)
Ben.
Mmm.
Ben. Honey, wake up. Wake up.
I gotta go to the hospital.
Oh, no.
DOCTOR: Get ready to crossmatch with two units of blood.
FEMALE NURSE: Yes, Doctor. Ben...
It's best you wait out here, Dr. Carson.
MALE NURSE: How do you feel? Do you feel any contractions?
Okay, ma'am, this might feel tight around your arm
when we take your blood pressure.
Okay, hook up the fetal monitor.
FEMALE NURSE: Oxygen to help you breathe. Here you go, Mrs. Carson.
DOCTOR: Breathing okay?
FEMALE NURSE: Just take it slow. You're doing fine.
Your wife will be fine, Dr. Carson. She'll be just fine.
But I'm sorry to say we lost the babies.
I'm so sorry.
(MACHINE BEEPING RHYTHMICALLY)
(SNIFFLING)
There was nothing I could do.
(SIGHING)
What time is it?
11:30.
Shouldn't you be on duty?
I am.
I mean neurosurgery.
Your patients need you.
You need me.
I have you. Go to work.
Down this hall. Okay. Thank you.
Doctor, where have you been? You're late. What happened?
I've been calling your house all morning.
I'll make up for it.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
(BABY GURGLING)
(CRYING)
(HUSHING)
That's...
Good girl. Hey.
She's a good girl. Yes, you are.
She's a big girl.
Okay. I love both of those hands.
That's very good. Very nice.
(REPORTERS CHATTERING)
WOMAN: How are you feeling?
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
WOMAN: How are you feeling now?
(CRYING)
Help me, Lord.
Ben, I've just been told you want to hold off the operation on the twins.
The sooner we operate, the better the chances for recovery.
I know, I know, but they'll bleed out.
I can't figure out a way around that.
Look, you're the best pediatric neurosurgeon in the world.
You may think I'm the best.
That's why they chose you.
If you can't find a solution, no one can.
(VIOLIN PLAYING)
Just like old times, huh?
You and me in the kitchen, doing dishes after dinner.
Except in Detroit, we didn't have a dishwasher.
Yes, we did. You're looking at her.
So proud of my boys.
Curtis, an engineer, you, a doctor.
You're still thinking about them Siamese twins, aren't you?
Sometimes I feel like...
I don't know, Mother.
Like a faucet that's all dried up.
I felt that way plenty of times.
The thing is, you got to find out what's blocking it
and move that thing out the way.
I don't know what's blocking it.
Sure you do.
You may not be able to bring back your babies by saving these,
but, even if you fail, at least you did something.
Bennie.
You can do this. Sure you can.
You got all the world in here.
You just gotta see beyond what you can see.
Yes. Come on.
Yeah. Yeah.
DR. ROGERS: Hello? Mark, we're a go.
BEN: First off, we'll need to have the room wired with emergency power,
in case there's an electrical failure.
Then we'll need two of everything,
two anesthesia monitors, two heart lung machines,
enough people on each team to cover both babies.
We'll need an anesthesiology team, a team of cardiac surgeons,
a team of plastic surgeons, a team of neurosurgeons.
And we'll need to figure out how to fit all 50 of us into one operating room.
Each team must rehearse their respective procedures step-by-step,
and each team must develop scenarios
for the worst possible things that could happen.
If one baby dies, we need to separate him as fast as possible
and give all shared tissue to the surviving twin.
Cardiothoracic will start their procedures at 6:00 a.m.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
Hello, again, Peter, Augusta. Welcome to Johns Hopkins.
Your sons' blood vessels are like tiny faucets
with only so much blood to lose.
Now, if we can turn off the faucets,
we can keep your sons from bleeding.
The only way to do this is to stop their hearts.
Stop their...
BEN: It's not a new procedure.
It's been used by cardiovascular surgeons for years.
It's just never been applied in a situation like this.
Now, we can do it in infants for an hour without causing brain damage.
But that hour is critical.
Why? What happens in that hour?
We'll stop their hearts,
then spend that hour reconstructing all the blood vessels
so that when their hearts start again,
there won't be any life-threatening loss of blood.
All in one hour?
Which is why we've rehearsed and rehearsed,
and why we need to pray.
You pray, Doctor?
Every day.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(MACHINES BEEPING RHYTHMICALLY)
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON: I'm removing the pericardium
to be used later as vascular tissue.
Cardio is done. All yours, Ben.
My light, please.
Scalpel.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
I've opened the dura and revealed the venous sinus that they share.
I'm going to start separation now, starting below the torcula.
There's a lot of bleeding.
Close it up. We'll try a different area.
FEMALE NURSE: Vital signs are stable.
Lord, it's like a lake of blood, it's huge.
Stitch.
We have to start hypothermic arrest.
MALE DOCTOR: Ben, we can't stop the hearts right now.
We haven't finished separating all the veins.
If we do it now, it'll cut too deeply into our hour.
If we don't stop the hearts, they'll bleed out.
Start cooling the blood.
Cooling.
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON: Prepare to inject the saline coolant solution
to replace the blood.
Aortic cross-clamp.
Cardioplegic needle.
FEMALE NURSE: Blood cooling to 20 degrees.
The hearts are stopped. Turn off the heart-lung machine.
Okay. We have one hour to finish separation,
rebuild the severed veins and reconstruct the torcula.
Pick up.
Bipolar.
More suction, please.
WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Wong, call the page operator.
BEN: I'm now separating the sagittal sinus.
Okay. Prepare for separation.
MALE DOCTOR: Right.
Set.
I'm ready to go.
All right, on my mark.
Three, two, one, separate.
BEN: Slowly. MALE DOCTOR: Easy.
BEN: Get ready with the drapes.
Make sure we don't contaminate the field.
FEMALE NURSE: Get that drape, too.
MALE DOCTOR: Go ahead, hang it.
Adjust that light, please.
FEMALE NURSE: I got the drapes.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
MALE DOCTOR: You adjust the drape?
BEN: Anesthesia? How does it look?
ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Give us a few minutes, Ben.
Start the restructuring of the torcula.
This is taking three times as long as I thought.
It's just too darn small.
ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Pressure's coming down, Ben.
DR. LONG: Done with vascular reconstruction.
Turn on the pump. Yes, Doctor.
DR. LONG: Start re-warming the blood.
Yes, Doctor. Warming the blood.
I don't think I can do it in time.
FEMALE NURSE: One minute, 30 seconds, Doctor.
SONYA: You don't need the book.
You got the book inside you.
Done.
Start the pumps. Warm the blood.
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON: Starting the pumps.
Get ready to start the heart, baby one.
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON 1: Paddles in, baby two.
(POWER CHARGING UP)
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON: Clear, baby one.
Okay. Do it.
(BEEPING)
Baby two. Charge to 10.
(POWER CHARGING UP)
Clear. All right, do it.
(BEEPING)
(MONITORS BEEPING)
Looks like sinus rhythm.
Start closing up the chest.
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON: Closing.
Begin closing the dura, Dr. Long.
Closing, Ben.
Stitch, please.
Someone let the parents know we're almost finished.
Yes, Doctor.
Close them up. Dr. Long?
One more stitch, Ben.
Disconnect my light, please.
Light, please.
Neuro's clear. Plastic surgeons, prepare to begin.
Thank you, Ben. Plastics, stepping in.
WOMAN ON PA: Ultrasound tech to Labor 4, please.
Peter.
Doctor?
Which child would you like to see first?
(GASPING)
(SPEAKING GERMAN)
Thank you. Thank you.
(CRYING) Thank you.
(SOBBING)
Good. Yeah.
PETER: I'm okay.
PETER: Okay. AUGUSTA: Yeah?
PETER: Okay.
MAN: All right. MAN 1: Congratulations.
MAN 2: Fantastic. Nice work.
MAN: Good job.
Ben, congratulations. Incredible job.
(BABY GURGLING)
(BABY GURGLES)
(PEOPLE APPLAUDING)
MAN: Nice work, Dr. Carson.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
MAN ON PA: Ladies and gentlemen,
if you can give Dr. Carson a moment, please,
he'll be happy to answer all of your questions
as soon as he steps up to the podium.
I always said, you can do anything anyone else can do,
only you can do it better. Only you can do it better.
That goes for you, too, Mother.
I love you. I love you.