Dover boy defies the odds
‘They (doctors) did not know what he would be capable of doing. He was not supposed to be alive.' Jessica Mullins, about her son Carson
Dover boy defies the odds

By Robert Medley

Published: March 24, 2008

DOVER — Carson Mullins can sit up, balance on his feet for a short while, smile wide, laugh and raise his hands to signal a touchdown on cue.

The 19-month-old boy wasn't expected to do any of this so soon, and perhaps not at all.

Fourteen months ago, a routine surgery to place tubes in his ears went awry. Since then, he's defied a grim prognosis, slowly recovering from lung and brain damage, said his mother, Jessica Mullins.

"They (doctors) did not know what he would be capable of doing,” Mullins said. "He was not supposed to be alive.”

When Carson's parents took him to Integris Bass Baptist Health Center in Enid for ear tubes when he was 5 months old, they didn't expect their baby to be away from his Dover home for more than a year.

During the toddler's Jan. 18, 2007, ear tube surgery, his airways collapsed, his mother said.

Carson was rushed from Enid to an Oklahoma City emergency room in critical condition. Mullins was told by doctors Carson could die at any moment. She was told he might not live a normal life even if he survived.

Enid hospital officials declined comment on Carson's case, spokeswoman Anita Andrew said.

The simple surgery was supposed to take 15 minutes.

Carson had suffered a number of ear infections, and a pediatrician told his parents he risked hearing loss if tubes were not inserted in his ears.

Mullins and her husband, David Mullins, expected a quick outpatient procedure.

After 30 minutes in the hospital waiting room, the Mullins began asking nurses what was taking so long. Then they saw their son.

"I saw him on the gurney going to an ambulance, and I could just tell it was more serious than they were telling us,” Jessica Mullins said.

David Mullins, a Dover volunteer firefighter who works in oil fields full time, sped behind the ambulance.

At Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Dr. Johnny Griggs told the Mullins that Carson was in critical condition, Jessica Mullins said. Carson couldn't breathe on his own and only had a few hours to live unless he could be rushed to OU Medical Center. There, a machine was available to assist his heart and lung functions.

Jessica Mullins said she nearly went into shock.

"We'd just taken Carson in for tubes in his ears,” she said. "I thought we were going to go home.”

OU Medical Center pediatric surgeon Dr. Robert Letton remembers Carson's desperate arrival.

"The fact that he is alive is amazing in itself,” Letton said in a recent interview.

Letton said Carson needed a tube down his throat to breathe. Carson's heart was beating, but his lungs were not moving oxygen into his bloodstream or taking carbon dioxide out, Letton said.

Down to a 50-50 chance of survival, doctors needed a pumping machine to assist Carson's damaged, swelling lungs.

The pump worked, but doctors advised the family Carson could not stay on it without long-term damage.

On Jan. 30, 2007, 12 days after the ear tube procedure, the family decided to take Carson off the life-supporting pump. A breathing tube remained in his throat.

"I didn't think his lungs were healed enough for him to survive,” Letton said. "I thought he would die.”

Carson didn't die. He survived and has made some progress since, Letton said.

"He is young enough for his lungs to heal, and it can keep getting better,” Letton said. "That is the beauty of kids. If that had been you or I, it would be over. But with kids you just never know.”

Carson's family spent two months at OU Medical Center, often sleeping on air mattresses.

"We were told he would never have any quality of life, that he would never walk and he would never talk,” Jessica Mullins said.

Carson started moving his fingers and toes. The small movements gave his parents hope.

Carson was moved to The Children's Center in Bethany on March 19, 2007; he couldn't breathe, eat or sit up on his own.

Every day, Jessica Mullins drove from Dover to Bethany to be with her son, returning home about 9 p.m.

Dr. Darin Brannan, the center's medical director, said at first Carson did not respond much to sound or light, but he would turn his head slightly when touched. Carson suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen.

The boy had difficulty with eye control and double vision at times. He still faces surgeries to repair his lungs.

But as Carson grew over the next several months, his personality began to show.

"He's a spitfire,” Brannan said. "You would walk into the room, and he would demand your attention. He's a very playful, loving child.”

Carson began to respond to music and voices and hugs, wanting to be picked up and played with every chance he got.

Carson was released from the center on Feb. 7. He was able to make the trip to Dover. He still uses a breathing tube.

At home, Carson laughs and smiles. He can point to his body parts, watch videos and rocks back and forth when others sing him songs.

He still has a long way to go in recovery, his family said, but he's doing things doctors thought he wouldn't be able to do.

"Now they are in awe of what he can do,” Jessica Mullins said. "It's unexplainable.”

"He is young enough for his lungs to heal and it can keep

getting better. That is the beauty of kids. If that had been you or I, it would be over. But with kids you just never know.”

Dr. Robert Letton

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