About Ben

In 1952, an epidemic was sweeping through the United States and much of the world. Ben Levinson, a twenty-three-year-old medical student was in its path. Would he be able to complete his medical education, his goal since he was a boy? Would he be a victim or a hero?

When Ben was ten years old, his Uncle Abraham had come to live with his family after escaping Nazi Germany in 1939. Abraham had been a physician in the slums of Hamburg, ministering to the city's poor. Given refuge by Ben's parents, his example inspired young Ben to become a doctor. He was mentor and second father as Ben strove to overcome many of his physical challenges. With his body forever compromised, how could he fulfill his dreams to have a happy personal life and his determination to become a physician?

Accepting the facts and allowing the support of his whole family and very special new friends, Ben tackled his disease even as he watched others enabled to avoid it. Ben took on one of the most difficult tasks of his generation of doctors -- helping to uncover previously unrecognized conditions and disorders in children and young people.

Ben was admired for his devotion to patients, his boundless energy and perseverance, and his comprehensive knowledge. He shaped new paths in pediatrics with his advocacy for public health initiatives. He benefited from inventive designs for assistive appliances and emerging acceptance for disabled persons that occurred during the second half of the twentieth century.

He became known as "the pediatrician's pediatrician," and like his Uncle Abraham, he delivered optimal care to children of the inner-city poor. Most of all, he was respected for his resilience in the face of adversity.