Boy born without a voice receives groundbreaking surgery

ADAMSVILLE, Tenn. — A child born with no voice will now be heard across the nation thanks to a medical team.

In February Dr. Jerome Thompson performed a historic procedure on two-year-old Cooper Kilburn at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Six months ago Cooper had never made a sound, not even a cry.

“An accident is what brought all of this about,” Thompson said. “Otherwise, when Cooper was born, he was going to die.”

When Cooper’s mother, Brooke Kilburn, was just 16 weeks pregnant, she was in a car accident.

That accident led her to an ultrasound that would change her life.

“At that ultrasound, they discovered some interesting abnormalities where they couldn’t verify that there was an airway,” Thompson said.

“He’s taught us not to take each other for granted, as a good way to put it, and not to take life for granted,” Cooper’s father said.

Thompson says a team of medical professionals researched several laryngotracheal attempts for this scenario.

“They haven’t been successful, and I know why. It’s not easy,” Thompson explained.

The doctors involved say that it is critical for the medical field to be willing to do the thing that’s never been done.

“It opens a door,” Thompson said. “And once you open a door, people are going to go through it.”

Thompson says that Cooper will now be able to breathe, play sports and have a normal life.

“One day Cooper’s going to be telling this, and we’re not going to have to,” Mrs. Kilburn said. “We can just sit back and think how strong he is and how he gives so many people hope.”

Thompson says statistically this abnormality occurs in 1 in 50 million births.

Cooper’s medical team will be presenting his groundbreaking case at national meetings.