Tenn. Boy Who Lost Ears in Dog Attack Remains Resilient

Dec. 25--NEWPORT, Tenn. -- It was still dark when 11-year-old Brandon Williams sneaked out of bed into the stark living room of his parents' home.

There were no Christmas decorations.

So as his parents slept a couple weeks ago, he dug out the family's 6-foot artificial tree, erected it and placed an angel on top.

"I wanted to surprise them," said Brandon, a shy, blue-eyed boy with a contagious smile. "They woke up and were like, 'How did this get up?'"

Brandon's been full of surprises lately.

Less than five months ago the frail, slender boy lay on a table in the emergency room at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville as about a half-dozen doctors and surgeons worked to keep him alive following a dog attack outside his home.

The female pit bull mix shredded his face and neck, barely missing his jugular.

She ripped his left arm and hand to pieces.

She tore his ears from his head.

"It was pretty scary," said Dr. Philip McDowell, an orthopedic surgeon who worked on Brandon the day of the attack.

But today, life is getting back to normal for the boy who has drawn an outpouring of support from not only the community where he lives, but across the United States.

Brandon, whom doctors call tough and resilient, is healing better than anticipated.

"I think back to that night to when this happened and I can't believe he's doing so well," McDowell said. "He's come so far. Even though it was a horrible story, I think it's going to have a good ending."

And despite receiving help from others the boy hasn't forgotten the meaning of giving.

The attack

Brandon was mauled Aug. 3 by the pit bull mix and a large black male dog outside a home in the 1000 block of Branch Drive in Newport as he carried a wrongly delivered UPS package to a neighbor's home.

Cocke County Sheriff's Office deputies said the dogs were owned by Jennifer R. Switzer, 21, and Anthony L. Lugar, 22, who were later arrested on charges of allowing animals to run at large.

Brandon said that when he tried to run from the dogs, they knocked him over and the pit bull, which authorities said was in heat, mauled him.

His mom, Christy Williams, screamed. His father, Tony Williams, rushed out the front door to his aid.

Brandon said he fought the dog off for as long as he could until his father came to his rescue.

Tony Williams tried to grab the pit bull as it dragged Brandon down the road by one ear, but he said the black dog intervened and bit him. Williams scared off the black dog and attacked the pit bull. It took five minutes, he said, to pull his son free.

A neighbor was forced to fatally shoot the black dog. The female pit bull mix was immediately quarantined.

His father found his son's ears in the road.

Brandon was flown by medical helicopter to the hospital where he underwent reconstructive surgery in an attempt to reattach his ears. But doctors could not save them.

Doctors also performed surgery on his neck, leg and arm, which were almost destroyed.

"I thought I was going to die," Brandon said at the time from his room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

He spent close to a week hospitalized before being discharged. When his father wheeled him out his head was wrapped in gauze and his face was marred with deep puncture wounds, gaping cuts and dark purple bruises.

His right eye was almost swollen shut.

His left arm was in a sling. He could barely move it.

But the healing had begun.

Back to school

Aug. 9 marked a big day for Brandon.

Not only was he released from the hospital, it was also the day he was scheduled to report to Bridgeport Elementary School for the first day of the fifth grade.

But because he was still weak, his parents decided to home school him.

That didn't last long.

"A lot of the kids knew what had happened so they made him a big poster card," said Bridgeport Elementary Principal April Cody. "They told him they couldn't wait for him to come to school."

After Brandon got the card, his father said, his son begged him to return to school.

On Oct. 17, he joined his classmates.

He was nervous at first.

"I just sneaked in. Crouched down," he said recalling that morning.

During a portion of the day he wore a brown hooded sweatshirt, with the hood up.

Regardless, Cody said Brandon's classmates acted as if nothing was wrong and welcomed him with open arms.

"The kids, they're real accepting and try to buddy up with him," said his fifth-grade teacher, Beth Stiltner.

One classmate in particular, Charles Thomas, bonded with Brandon.

"Charles is always wanting to be partners with him and make him very welcome," she said.

"Whenever someone new comes I always try to make friends with them," said Charles, age 10.

But others haven't been as nice.

Cody said some middle school students teased him while riding the bus.

An unfazed Brandon brushed it off.

"I just ignored them," Brandon said.

His teacher concurred.

"He doesn't let things get to him," Stiltner said.

And things have only brightened at school.

At first he wasn't allowed to participate in sports, but a doctor cleared him a few weeks ago, so at recess he now plays football and basketball with classmates, Stiltner said.

His grades are impressive, too, she said.

"He's a real good student. He tries hard in class," Stiltner said. "Very smart. Polite."

Writing is his best subject, Stiltner said.

"He's a good little author," she said. "He wrote Christmas poems about how excited he was to get presents."

Outpouring of support

In the weeks of his return into the world, the medical bills began mounting, said Christy Williams, a stay-at-home mom who also takes care of his 5-year-old brother, Timothy.

The family has limited resources.

Tony Williams spent time in prison for arson-related convictions in 2002. Tennessee Department of Correction records show he was released in 2009.

Tony Williams has openly acknowledged he served time in prison, but he said he'd been working to get his life back on track to support his family. Brandon also has two older siblings, Chris Williams and Nikki Williams, both 18.

After his release, Brandon's dad said he was out of work due to a surgery. He was slated to return back this fall, but the family said he hasn't been able to find a job. In addition to caring for Brandon, he's been taking care of his ailing father, who was also recently hospitalized.

This fall, Brandon's family moved out of their Branch Drive home to another residence down the street on Maple Lane.

Family, friends and strangers who have heard of the family's plight stepped in to help financially.

Local nurses took up collections. Some Harley-Davidson riders organized a bike run.

Brandon's aunt, Tammy Phillips of Chattanooga, created a Web page, raising just over $3,600. Funds also went to fix the family car and get Brandon back and forth to his dozens of doctor's appointments, most of them in Knoxville and Maryville. Among those who have seen him are an orthopedic surgeon, a plastic surgeon, an ear, nose and throat specialist and a physical therapist.

A couple from his hometown also held a benefit that raised nearly $30,000. It went into a trust fund for the boy.

The Shriners organization, which helps children who are burned or have orthopedic needs, has volunteered to pick up his medical costs, which include trips to Cincinnati for consultations.

The boy and his family are focused on resuming a normal life.

In recent weeks, he grew out his sandy brown hair to cover up the void where his ears used to be.

"One of his aunts cuts it so it covers his ears and doesn't look so obvious," his dad said.

The attack hasn't deterred the ladies.

Ask him if he has a girlfriend and he'll grin.

"He won't tell me," his mom said.

He will tell you he plans to join the football team when he gets to middle school next year and that he'd like to play wide receiver.

For Halloween he even dressed up as No. 8, Tyler Bray, quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers.

He ate so much candy that night he couldn't sleep, his dad said.

Progress

During a Nov. 1 checkup with McDowell, one of the nearly half-dozen doctors who simultaneously worked on Brandon in the ER after the attack, the orthopedic surgeon said he was happy with how his patient's hand and arm were healing.

"He's got about 90 percent of function in his thumb back ... which I'm pretty amazed at," the doctor said. "He's just not gonna let it keep him down. This is a kid that's playing video games two days after being hurt.

"You look great, man," McDowell said to Brandon.

He then read over Brandon's most recent physical therapy report.

"That's better than I would have anticipated," McDowell said. "He's come so far. Let him play ball, shoot hoops. Let him be an 11-year-old kid. Early on, we didn't let him be a kid, but now it's time."

Brandon has a follow-up appointment for January with McDowell.

"I'm very proud of him," his mom said. "I hadn't figured he'd have done this well this soon."

She also said she's hopeful for what lies ahead.

Because the Shriners group has offered to foot most of his medical bills, Brandon also has taken trips to Cincinnati to meet with doctors at the Shriners Hospital for Children.

On Sept. 9 two representatives from the Cocke County Shrine Club drove him to meet with Dr. Brian Pan, a plastic surgeon who checked out the prognosis of Brandon's head and neck injuries.

On Dec. 12, he made another trip to Ohio to meet with physical therapist Jennifer Sutton and garment technician Jeanne Hager to be fitted for a pressure garment for his arm. He's to wear it around the clock because they want the scars to heal as smoothly as possible.

Also during that trip, John Keehnen of the Shriners Hospital put a plastic tube in Brandon's right ear to keep the scar from closing over his ear canal.

"It didn't hurt," the boy said.

Louise C. Hoelker, director of public and community relations, said Brandon is due back for an appointment in March.

"We see a lot of kids here," Hoelker said. "Most of them don't say thank you. He does. It's just the sweetest thing."

But Brandon's biggest hurdle is yet to come.

In about six more months, doctors plan to build him new ears.

His father said they plan to use one of his ribs to do so.

The procedure, he said, will involve removing a rib to harvest cartilage for the reconstruction.

But before that can happen, his mother said, surgeons want Brandon's head wounds to completely heal.

Justice for Brandon

Brandon's parents say they're looking forward to justice being served for what happened to him.

On Sept. 12, Cocke County Assistant District Attorney General Brownlow Marsh, the prosecutor handling the state's case against the named owners of the dog that attacked Brandon, filed a petition to have the dog euthanized.

The owners had until Oct. 16 to appeal but did not. The animal was put down.

Switzer and Lugar were indicted by a Cocke County grand jury Oct. 31 on one felony count of allowing animals to run at large. They are due back in court for a hearing on the charges Jan. 4, and if they go to trial and are convicted, they could face prison time.

Interviewed before Christmas, Brandon said he's glad he is able to enjoy the holidays at home this month with family. He hoped he'd see a football and a UT football jersey this morning under the Christmas tree he put up. But he said he was really looking forward to handing out his parents' gifts.

Brandon said he occasionally gets an allowance for chores, including sweeping and folding clothes. He said he usually saves the money but decided to buy Tony and Christy Williams gifts this year.

"I can't tell you what I got them, it's a surprise!" Brandon said.

But when a reporter told him she would not reveal the secret to his parents before Christmas Day, the boy relented.

"I got my dad some clothes," he said giggling, "and my mom shoes and Betty Boop socks."

Copyright 2011 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.