A Special Year Summary and Analysis

One of Ben's associates at Johns Hopkins, Bryant Stokes a native of Australia encourages Ben to consider becoming a senior registrar at a teaching hospital in Perth. Ben is appreciative of Bryant's offer but repeatedly dismisses the possibility. Ben thinks that Bryant is not looking at the whole picture—a black doctor would not be accepted in Australia where apartheid is a bigger problem than it is in Africa. However, the prospect of doing his senior residency in Australia keeps nagging at him. He finally learns that apartheid in Australia had been outlawed. Ben and Candy agree that with so many signs pointing at Australia that God wants him to go.

Ben's year in Australia proves quite beneficial to his career. One of his first cases involves a young woman with a large brain tumor threatening...