At 8 months old, Jesse Lawrence sustained a T9 spinal cord injury in a car accident. Growing up, he was in and out of the hospital, undergoing multiple major surgeries. Those life-changing experiences as a child led Lawrence, 34, to pursue a degree in medicine. 

“Around the time I was in high school, I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I recalled those moments in the hospital when I was sick or having surgery and felt the most vulnerable and scared. I remembered how the doctors who cared for me calmed my fears and restored my hope and humanity. That’s what I wanted to do for other people.” 

He enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned his medical degree. While in medical school, he shadowed a neurosurgeon and observed an intricate, 14-hour surgery to remove a brain tumor. “It was so amazing that I stayed for the entire surgery. The complexity of what they were doing was so amazing, as well as the uniqueness of the operation. I was like, wow, neurosurgery is what I have to do.”  

When it came to learning to handle the physical demands of operating, Lawrence says it was a bit of trial and error. “I tried different kinds of wheelchairs that got me higher and tilted me forward. Both were good for doing the cranial part of surgery but really didn’t allow me to do the spinal part of surgery.” 

He eventually got a standing wheelchair but found it, too, had limitations. That’s when his dad stepped in to modify the chair. “He changed the height of the chair, as well as the seat angle, which pushed me forward. That really allowed my shoulders to get to a point where I could stand over the patient on the operating table.” 

In addition to the physical complications, Lawrence also encountered bias from members of the medical community who questioned whether someone in a wheelchair would be able to perform neurosurgery. “To address their concerns, I started making videos of me operating in different positions. I included a link to those videos in my applications. It showed them how dedicated I was and how I could overcome any perceived challenges.” 

In the spring of 2024, he completed a seven-year residency in neurosurgery at West Virginia University. Believed to be one of the first paraplegics in the U.S. to complete a neurosurgical residency, Lawrence hopes he is not the last. 

“Having gone through medical school and residency, I don’t think there is anything in the medical field a paraplegic can’t do. One of my goals is to be a resource to those with a disability who have a desire to pursue a career in medicine, to share what I’ve learned and help make it easier for the next person.” 

We caught up with Lawrence in New York City, where he was completing a six-month subspecialty fellowship in skull-based neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. Following his fellowship, Lawrence will be moving to Minneapolis to work as a neurosurgeon at Allina Health. 

Here’s how he spends a typical day. 

4:45 a.m. 

I’m awake. It’s early, but one of the perks of no longer being a resident is I don’t get paged in the middle of the night anymore to come to the hospital. It’s done wonders for my sleep schedule. I quickly shower and get dressed. Luckily, I live a mile from the hospital, so it’s a quick commute. 

5:45 a.m. 

Patient rounding in the [intensive care unit] starts at 6 a.m. I like to take a few minutes beforehand to look up my patients, see if they had any imaging done overnight and check on their lab values before I visit them. I transfer from my standard wheelchair to a standing manual wheelchair to perform bedside care. This standing chair is different from the automatic standing chair I use in the operating room. Throughout my career, my wheelchair has never really been an issue for my patients — they just see me as their doctor. I’ve never had anyone ever ask me, “How are you going to be able to operate on me, or can you?” People seem to just take it in stride, which is wonderful. That trust has really helped me grow my confidence as a neurosurgeon. 

7:30 a.m.  

Our first patient of the day is getting prepped for the operating room, and I am making sure the room is set up and all the equipment is ready to go. I love operating. If I could operate all day, every day, I would. I love the challenge, the problem-solving aspect that goes into it, and the technology, like being able to use different instruments and microscopes. You have to have a lot of endurance. When I first started operating in my standing chair, I had to get used to [being] in an upright position for long hours at a time, but now I’m used to it. I had to take a year off from medical school because I had contractures in my knees and hips and had to have surgery to release the joints just to be able to get into a standing position. 

Time to scrub in. In order to stay sterile and not touch my wheelchair after I scrub, I can do one of two things — after I scrub, I can control the joystick of my standing wheelchair with my elbow, or there is a gel that sterilizes your hands. I can put a dollop in my hand, navigate into the room with the joystick and apply the gel once I am in the room. 

2 p.m. 

Six hours in and we’re still in the operating room with our first patient of the day. Depending on the complexity of the operation, one operation could take four or more hours. You are making decisions on the fly. For example, should I take more tumor or less tumor? What’s too dangerous and what is going to give the patient the best outcome? It’s a huge responsibility and takes an incredible amount of concentration. I’m not the only physician in the operating room. There is an attending physician and sometimes a resident, so if anyone needs to step out to take a break, we can. Most days when I’m operating, I really don’t even eat. I intermittent fast and just have one good meal a day or grab a snack when I can. 

5 p.m. 

We’re out of the operating room, so I start to wrap up my day, putting in patient orders and dictating surgery notes. The patient we operated on today is awake, so I head up to the ICU to do a quick exam to make sure they are doing OK and there are no complications. If family is there, I’ll spend some time going over everything the attending physician told them earlier and answer any questions they might have.  

7 p.m. 

I don’t do much cooking, so I’ll either go out to dinner with friends or order in. I rarely go to the same restaurant twice. One of the other fellows and I have a goal to try a new cuisine every time we go out. It’s been fun to try new things and places around the city. I’ve even been to a few Michelin star restaurants. 

9:30 p.m. 

After dinner I might turn on the TV and watch something like a cooking competition show, or I’ll do some reading for a group research project I’m involved in — a newer transorbital surgery, where the surgeon goes around the eye to get to the brain. 

11 p.m. 

I finally crawl into bed after a very long day. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I’m looking forward to a day off and sitting at home watching college football. 

FUN FACTS: 

Hobbies: I started playing piano two years ago. It’s a nice way to relax. 

New York City checklist: While I’ve been doing my fellowship, I’ve gone to some musicals and the New York Philharmonic. They’re fantastic. I also want to go to an opera. 

Advice for aspiring surgeons with disabilities: Really think about what type of surgery you want to do. For example, orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery are the most physically demanding, but with the right determination, I don’t think anything is impossible.