INDIANAPOLIS -- Intimate personal stories rarely make the rounds among media interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine, but Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr shared a deeply intimate story about his infant son on Friday.
Born with intestinal malrotation, a 1-in-500 affliction for American babies according to The Fresno Bee, Dallas Carr underwent underwent multiple emergency surgeries to repair the condition. Thankfully, Carr's son is now OK. But forgive one of the NFL draft's top-rated quarterback prospects if he lost a bit of focus last season.
"He was born with intestinal malrotation, and so what that means is his intestines were all tangled up and nothing was passing through. And he was born eight days early, so the doctors told us if he was born on time, we would have gave birth and he wouldn't have lived. So when they found out, what would happen is he would throw up like six feet, so he was throwing up everywhere and so they rushed him to surgery," Carr said. "He ended up having three surgeries and the Colorado game that got canceled for us, that was his last surgery and so all things happen for a reason, right? Games don't get canceled in college football, but that one did. It happened to be that week, so that was his last surgery."
Dallas was born on Aug. 5, Carr said, just as Fresno State's preseason camp was getting underway. His first 23 days were spent in Children's Hospital Central California. Carr, meanwhile, was trying to maintain focus on the field for a Fresno State team that won its first 10 games as its quarterback's newborn baby was recovering.
"I've been pulled off the field by my coaches and I'm thinking Dallas is doing great, and they're saying, 'Dallas is going back into surgery,' and I ran up the ramp bawling my eyes out because I can't do anything to help my son but pray for him," Carr said. "There was a lot of emotion going through all of that and I get choked up talking about it now, but he's doing great now and he has no problems. We just went to the doctor and they said if you never even tell him what happened, he'll never know, so we're very blessed."
In May, Carr will be blessed again to be chosen in the NFL draft, quite possibly as the fourth quarterback chosen. But that blessing won't compare to the one he received last fall.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
