'Dead' man recovering after ATV accident

Natalie Morales • Profile

OKLAHOMA CITY - A tiny news clip plainly spelled it out: a road fatality. It was another life cut heartbreakingly short. The news story made no mention of the giant affection young Zack Dunlap had earned from family and friends, who more than anything wished they could rewrite history.

They dared even to pray for the impossible, asking that this beloved local son be returned to them.

But even the most fervent believers could not have fathomed that such a prayer might really be answered.

In fact, Zack himself had been the answer to a prayer years earlier. He was adopted by Doug and Pam Dunlap when he was just 15 days old.

Doug Dunlap: I was thrilled to be a dad. And he was the best-looking boy I’d seen and ever would see.

Pam Dunlap: He had the most gorgeous blue eyes that I’d ever seen -- just made your heart melt.

He was special to them in so many ways, they said. But what touched them most was how well he handled adversity. Growing up, Zack was severely dyslexic. Even writing his name could be a huge undertaking.

Pam Dunlap: He fought through it, and he graduated from high school … That was a huge accomplishment. We were so proud of him. It would have been easy for him to have given up.

After graduation, Zack continued to live with his family in Frederick, Ok. -- a small farming and ranching community. A warehouse worker, Zack played just as hard as he worked.

He drove souped-up all-terrain vehicles, more commonly called 4-wheelers. It was a passion for him and his friends -- and they all said Zack was fearless, even calling him "Outlaw."

Last November, a few days before Thanksgiving, Zack and some friends, including Colton Gaines, rode their 4-wheelers in the local parade, occasionally popping wheelies.

Colton Gaines: Just showing off and everybody was “Aaw, look at that.”

At dusk, everyone was heading toward Colton’s house when Zack fell behind.

He raced to catch up -- at the same time, popping a wheelie.

Colton Gaines: When you're on a wheelie, all you're seeing is straight up in the air. I guess that he didn't see me in the road.

Bad move. When Zack’s front wheels touched down on the pavement, he was a hair's breadth from Colton’s 4-wheeler. Zack swerved, and then...

Colton Gaines: I just saw his 4-wheeler turning, flipping in the air. And then hitting the asphalt.

Colton was fine. His best friend, who had not been wearing a helmet, was not.

Colton Gaines: He was laying there facing down on the road, not moving or nothing, not saying anything. Just laying there. And I yelled his name and he didn't respond.

(911 call)

911: Police department, dispatch.

Caller: Somebody's had a 4-wheeler accident.

911: Where at?

Caller: Highway 70, turn west. Hang on, buddy! Emergency!

As an ambulance scrambled to reach Zack in the chilly darkness, his 80-year-old grandmother, Naomi Blackford, was at home listening in on a personal police scanner.

Naomi Blackford: I knew he'd been down there riding. That's why I called Pam and asked her if she knew where Zack was at.

Pam soon did. Her son was at the local emergency room.

Natalie Morales: You were a mom in a panic.

Pam Dunlap: Oh, in panic mode.

Natalie Morales: What did the doctors tell you at that point?

Pam Dunlap: She just said it wasn't good.

Doug Dunlap: She said brain matter was coming from Zack’s ear.

Pam Dunlap: All I can remember is just being down on my knees saying, you know, "No. No, God, no. This isn't going to happen."

Zack was Medivac’ed to a hospital 50 miles away, in Wichita Falls, Texas -- one equipped to deal with traumatic brain injury.

With Zack on a ventilator to support his breathing, it was relatively easy for doctors to address his broken collarbone and multiple skull fractures. Far more confounding was stabilizing the pressure building in Zack’s bleeding brain.

Dr. Mercer: His brain injuries were absolutely catastrophic.

Dr. Leo Mercer, Director of Trauma Services at United Regional, said Zack’s condition deteriorated as the hours wore on. With the young Oklahoman unresponsive to any sensory stimulation, the doctor wondered if they'd already lost him. He apprised Pam and Doug of his findings.

Dr. Mercer: I told them that I was going to order a confirmatory test, a brain flow study.

(At the scanner)

We actually scan it twice...

A blood flow scan would determine if there was any blood still coursing through Zack’s brain. The results couldn't have been worse.

Pam Dunlap: The doctor took us in and showed us the image on the computer. And he told us the dark areas will be the areas where there's no blood flow to the brain.

Doug Dunlap: And that was the whole brain. That was the whole thing. It was just black.

Natalie Morales: Were the doctors giving you any sense of hope?

Doug Dunlap: They were already saying he was brain-dead.

(Looking at brain scan)

Natalie Morales: So, when you see this, I mean, he was in a permanent vegetative state?

Dr. Mercer: No, he was dead. He meets the legal, medical requirements for declaring a patient brain dead.

Tough as it was, the Dunlaps decided against keeping Zack on long-term artificial life support.

Doug Dunlap: He lived life to the fullest. And laying in bed the rest of his life? That wasn't an option.

But Pam and Doug were prepared to keep him alive in another way. Zack himself gave them the answer.

Pam Dunlap: I had seen his driver's license. And I knew that he was an organ donor.

Natalie Morales: Always wanting to help.

Pam Dunlap: That's it. He had a huge heart.

That's why Zack’s heart was the first organ the Dunlaps OK’d as they considered the hospital's donor checklist.

Pam Dunlap: We wanted to make sure that some lucky person got to live on through Zack’s heart.

Doug Dunlap: And then there were some things we wouldn't do.

Natalie Morales: May I ask what were some of the things that you wanted him to have?

Pam Dunlap: His beautiful eyes. Because he had such pretty eyes. That was one thing I just could not do.

Pam and Doug were told they could expect the harvesting of Zack’s organs to get underway within the next 12 to 24 hours. With the clock winding down, the hospital notified authorities that Zack had died at 11:10 that morning -- 36 hours after the accident.

As a helicopter sent by the organ donation team was scheduled to land, friends and relatives gathered to say their goodbyes.

They had no idea of the miracle they were about to witness.

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