Ep. 46 | Bad Blood 26:40

Hey Prime members, you can binge episodes 41 through 48 of Mr. Baughlin's Medical Mysteries right now and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. A doctor tossed and turned in her bed, unable to stop thinking about her young patient. He was a five-year-old boy dealing with a mysterious deadly illness that was shutting down his organs one by one. If the doctor didn't figure out what was wrong with him soon, the little boy would die.

But so far, every test the doctor had run on him had come back negative and so the doctor was sort of out of ideas and she didn't know how she was going to face this poor boy and his mother the following morning. The doctor did finally manage to drift off to a fitful sleep, but just before her alarm went off, she bolted upright in a panic. She just had the strangest dream. It was like this totally visceral nightmare and the details were quickly fading away, but the fear she felt from this nightmare was still coursing through her body.

This nightmare had just revealed exactly what was wrong with her young patient, and the answer was more terrifying and cruel than she'd ever imagined.

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From Ballin Studios and Wondery, I'm Mr. Ballin, and this is Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries, where every week we will explore a new baffling mystery originating from the one place we all can't escape, our own bodies. So if you like today's story, please replace the follow button's air filter with a whole uncooked salmon. This episode is called Bad Blood.

It was February 24th, 1991, and Jennifer Jackson was at a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. She was in labor, and she was about to give birth to her second child.

And she was doing it alone. Her boyfriend and the father of this child, Brian Stewart, was an Army medic, and currently he was deployed to the Middle East so he couldn't be there for the birth. Brian was heartbroken that he couldn't be there for this big moment. He was so excited to become a dad. Before leaving for this deployment, he'd given Jennifer a framed poem he had written about becoming a parent. And whenever they spoke on the phone, Brian couldn't wait to hear about Jennifer's latest ultrasound and how big the baby was getting.

And through it all, Brian had just one request about the baby boy who would be born while he was overseas. He wanted Jennifer to name this child after him. Brian knew that there was a chance he could be killed in action, and so he wanted to guarantee that this baby always had a connection to their father.

Just then, a huge painful contraction brought Jennifer back into the present and her doctor told her, "Come on, one more push, just one more push." And a few minutes later, Jennifer was holding a screaming little baby boy, Brian Jr., in her arms. Nine months later, on Christmas morning, Jennifer sat on the couch helping baby Brian open his presents while Brian Sr. sat next to them sipping coffee.

Jennifer looked over at him and squeezed his leg. Ever since coming home a few months ago, Brian had been this amazing father and partner. He did what he could to help with the baby, and he was extremely attentive to Jennifer's needs. He loved to hold her hand and talk about their future together.

But Jennifer felt like she was still getting to know Brian. They hadn't been dating that long before she got pregnant and he went off to war. So when he sometimes got moody and walked out in a huff, Jennifer didn't really know what to think. But with Brian's charming smile and good looks, Jennifer could never stay mad at him for very long. And after all, he did always come back, which was more than she could say for her previous boyfriends. The father of her first child was hardly in her young daughter's life at all.

But on this particular morning, their first Christmas together as a family, Brian began acting pretty strangely. When Jennifer handed him a present for the baby and asked Brian Sr. to help open it, Brian Sr. refused. And then a dark expression came over his face and he got up off the couch and began pacing. Jennifer had no idea what he was doing. And at first she thought, you know, maybe he's having a flashback from his time in the Middle East. And so she asked Brian, you know, hey, are you okay? But Brian just kept on pacing.

And then at some point, Brian came to a stop, he took a deep breath, and looked Jennifer in the eye and said, "I don't think I'm Brian Jr.'s father." Jennifer was totally stunned. She asked Brian where this was coming from. Then she held the baby up and asked how could he believe this child was anyone else's but his? The baby looked just like Brian Sr. But Brian Sr. refused to listen and he ultimately stormed out of the room shouting that he knew the truth and was not going to raise another man's child.

Jennifer didn't know what to do. She wanted to follow after him to their bedroom and get him to calm down, but Brian seemed so angry she didn't know how he'd react if she just kept on insisting the baby really was his. So she just hung back and tried her best to comfort Brian Jr. while Brian Sr. packed a bag and left the house. About two months later, Jennifer was at home balancing her son on her hip while she tried to cook some lunch for him and his sister.

Adjusting to life as a single mother had been very challenging for Jennifer, and she wasn't getting much help from anybody else in her family either. Jennifer's sister was around a lot, but she was also a drug addict. And so a lot of the times when Jennifer's sister came over, she'd come over with a friend or two and they were high on heroin. Sometimes Jennifer even caught her sister and her friends injecting drugs in her house.

Jennifer hated all the substance abuse around her kids, but at the same time, she just didn't have the heart to stop her sister from coming around because it meant a lot to her sister to visit the kids. Every now and again, Jennifer would try calling Brian for help, but whenever he actually answered the phone, he would just yell at her about how Brian Jr. was not his son. Jennifer did her best not to let it bother her and just focused on trying to raise her kids as best as she could.

But as Jennifer cooked up some mac and cheese, she noticed little Brian's breathing suddenly sounded different. He was wheezing and it seemed like he was having a hard time catching his breath.

Jennifer had no idea what was going on, but just from the looks of it, this didn't look like a common cold or something else that was easy to explain. This looked pretty serious. And so as her little boy continued to struggle to breathe, Jennifer just picked up her phone, called her mom, and told her to meet her at the hospital. Then Jennifer bundled up her kids and drove to the nearest emergency room.

A few hours later, Jennifer was sitting beside little Brian's crib at St. Joseph's West Hospital in Lake St. Louis. The baby was hooked up to an IV as well as all sorts of monitors that measured his vitals. Thankfully though, he was now breathing normally. Little Brian's pediatrician, Dr. Linda Steele-Green, was treating the baby for pneumonia and asthma, a chronic disease that can make breathing difficult. The doctor explained that Brian Jr. had an asthma attack, but she had given him some treatments to stabilize him.

For Jennifer, this diagnosis was both relieving and kind of daunting. She now knew baby Brian would be okay, but asthma was a condition that her son would have to live with for the rest of his life. Jennifer thought about the baby's father, Brian Sr. Even though he had not been involved in his son's life since he moved out, Jennifer figured she should let him know what was going on. So she used the hospital room's phone to call another hospital where Brian Sr. worked as a lab tech.

A few moments later, one of Brian's colleagues answered the call and Jennifer told them to please find Brian Stewart because his son was at St. Joseph's Hospital. But the person on the other end sounded confused. They asked Jennifer if she was maybe looking for a different Brian Stewart? Because the Brian Stewart that worked there had never said anything about having a son. Jennifer almost slammed the phone down in anger. She knew Brian was in denial about being little Brian's father, but this was just disgraceful.

Trying to stay calm, she assured the colleague that, oh yes, she had the right Brian Stewart and to please relay this message as soon as possible. After Jennifer hung up, she did her best to put Brian Sr. out of her mind. For now, the only thing that mattered was her baby boy getting better. The next morning, Jennifer was leaning over the edge of little Brian's hospital crib as he slept, holding his hand. The breathing treatments were working, and once the baby woke up, the doctor said he was well enough to go home.

Jennifer got up to go pack some things when she suddenly heard someone walk through the door. She turned around and much to her surprise, Brian Sr. was standing there with his white lab coat folded over his arm. He said he was there to see the baby. Jennifer was definitely surprised to see him. She didn't really know how she felt about it, but at the same time, she was grateful that her ex-boyfriend obviously cared enough about their son that he was here now to visit him in the hospital.

Brian Sr. placed his lab coat down on a chair and then walked over to Jennifer and gently took Brian Jr. from her arms. Brian Sr. smiled at the baby and then said to Jennifer that she should take a break and grab a snack. Jennifer smiled and took him up on the offer and headed down to the hospital cafeteria. About 20 minutes later, Jennifer was done with her break, so she stepped back into the elevator and rode it upstairs towards the pediatric floor.

When the elevator doors opened, Jennifer heard the unmistakable sound of her own child screaming. And so Jennifer took off running towards her son's room.

Once she got there, she found Brian Sr. sitting in a rocking chair, looking terrified and very confused. He was holding little Brian in his arms. The baby was sobbing. Jennifer tried to run over and grab her son, but before she could, nurses rushed in and put little Brian back in his bed and began taking his vitals. They said his blood pressure and pulse were much higher than normal.

A moment later, Little Brian's pediatrician, Dr. Steele Green, came in to examine him. Jennifer stood off to the side, biting her nails nervously. Finally, after doing the exam, Dr. Steele Green told Jennifer that she couldn't explain why Little Brian's vital signs were so off. He was stable now, but whatever had just happened definitely was not an asthma attack. So, a decision was made to keep Brian Jr. in the hospital for further observation instead of discharging him like they'd planned.

Jennifer turned to Brian Sr. and asked him what happened while she was gone. He just shrugged. He said everything was going fine, Brian Jr. seemed perfectly happy, and then all of a sudden he was just crying his lungs out. Jennifer asked Brian Sr. if he wanted to stay a bit longer, but he just shook his head and said no. He said he had a lot to do and that he wouldn't be much help here anyway. Then he picked up his lab coat and after waving goodbye to the baby, he left Jennifer alone to comfort their son.

Jennifer stayed in the room with Brian Jr. for the next few days as doctors continued to monitor his progress. Finally, Dr. Steele-Green said it was safe for them to go home now. As Jennifer strapped her son into a stroller, the pediatrician told her to look out for asthma symptoms. But beyond that, her baby boy should be just fine.

Four years later, in the spring of 1996, Jennifer ran a bath for Brian Jr., who was now five years old. After the frightening hospital visit when he was an infant, Brian's childhood had actually gone as normally as it could. But he hadn't actually seen his father again since that hospital visit. Brian Sr. continued to deny that he was the child's father, and he very clearly did not want to be involved in this baby's life anyway.

Jennifer thought, ultimately, it was for the best. It was Bryan Sr.'s loss. Jennifer and Bryan Jr. were getting along just fine by themselves.

Once the bath was ready, Jennifer squirted some soap on a washcloth and began to get Brian cleaned up. But as she scrubbed him, she noticed something strange. They'd gone to the park earlier and Brian had gotten a couple of scrapes and cuts like all kids do, but they looked really red and swollen. And some fresh mosquito bites that he had gotten at the park looked huge and inflamed. It was like his body was not properly healing itself.

Jennifer helped her son out of the bath and put some bandages on his wounds. And as they walked to his room to get ready for bed, Jennifer noticed Brian Jr. was now walking strangely, like he was having trouble keeping his balance. Jennifer held her son's hands to try to help him walk, and she noticed his palms felt clammy. So Jennifer took his temperature, and she was shocked to see the thermometer read 105 degrees Celsius.

Even though Brian Jr. had just been in the bath, Jennifer knew Brian's body temperature should not be this high. This was a potentially lethal fever, and he needed medical attention right away. If you're like me, you are constantly thinking about the safety of the people and things you value most. And after listening to and telling a whole lot of strange, dark, and mysterious true stories, I really needed to make sure my home was safe and secure. My research led me to SimpliSafe.com.

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Once they arrived at the hospital, little Brian was taken straight to the pediatric intensive care unit. Jennifer did her best not to panic as a team of doctors, including Dr. Steele Green, hooked up Brian Jr. to a bunch of monitors and stuck needles in his arms for IVs and blood tests. It

It was nerve-wracking, but Jennifer was glad that Dr. Steele-Green was there. The two women had become friends after Brian Jr.'s hospital stay when he was a baby, and Dr. Steele-Green had continued to see the boy for regular pediatric appointments. Jennifer was very confident that Dr. Steele-Green would be able to help her son. By the end of the day, little Brian had been stabilized, but the doctors still didn't know what was wrong with him. Dr. Steele-Green promised Jennifer she would run every test she could, and hopefully they would have an answer in the morning.

That night, Jennifer lay awake on the couch inside of little Brian's hospital room, listening to her son's heart monitor beeping. Jennifer had been trying to stay optimistic, but it was now clear that little Brian was seriously ill. But still, Jennifer knew that Dr. Steele-Green would do everything she could to figure out what was wrong.

Just as Jennifer was beginning to fall asleep, little Brian suddenly shot up in bed crying and screaming for his mother. Jennifer rushed over to him and tried to calm him down, but he just kept on sobbing and begging his mother not to let him die. Jennifer promised her son that he'd be okay. The doctors would figure out what was wrong with him and they would fix it. She said this over and over again and held her son close until finally little Brian did drift back to sleep.

A few days later, Jennifer sat beside little Brian's hospital bed, gripping his hand as he slept. Ever since he'd been admitted, Jennifer had barely left her son's side. Little Brian was in extremely bad shape, and Jennifer didn't want to be away from him in case something really bad happened. Over the past few days, little Brian had grown weaker and weaker as his organs began to shut down one by one.

His skin had grown jaundiced and yellow because his liver and spleen were not working properly, his ears were infected, and his digestive system had almost entirely shut down. And the doctors really had no idea why any of this was happening. They had tested little Brian for everything they could think of, even diseases that had been largely eradicated or only existed in other countries. Everything had come back negative.

As Jennifer went down her mental checklist of all little Brian's symptoms, trying to come up with some explanation that kind of made sense, she heard a knock at the door. Dr. Steele-Green opened it up and stood in the doorway with a very somber look on her face. She walked in and took a seat in a chair next to Jennifer. Jennifer could see tears forming in the doctor's eyes, and a pit began to form in Jennifer's stomach. She knew that whatever news Dr. Steele-Green had, it would not be good.

In a quiet voice, Dr. Steele-Green told Jennifer they had finally figured out what was wrong with little Brian. It was something so unlikely, she would have probably never figured it out on her own. The only reason she'd even thought to test for it was because the possibility came to her in a nightmare.

As she slept, a series of frightening images came into her mind. She saw blood, then she saw needles and test tubes, then she heard the squeak of a rocking chair and the sound of a baby crying. Then she was wide awake sitting upright in her bed, finally having an idea of what might be wrong with little Brian.

Normally, she wouldn't follow her dreams for medical advice, but Dr. Stillgreen had been out of ideas and she was willing to try anything at this point. So they had gone ahead and tested Brian for this really specific terrible disease, and it would turn out the doctor's nightmare diagnosis was correct. Brian tested positive.

Now there was no more sugarcoating. Little Brian didn't have long to live. Because he'd just tested positive for the HIV virus and it had turned into full-blown AIDS at a time when there was basically no treatments for the disease. HIV can prevent the body from fighting off even the slightest infection. The disease that the virus causes is called AIDS and 30 years ago, it was an absolute death sentence. Dr. Steele-Green estimated Brian had maybe five months left to live.

Jennifer was absolutely speechless. Panic raced through her mind as she wondered how this could have happened. Jennifer didn't know much about HIV, but from what she did know, you got it from having sex with someone who had HIV or you got it from sharing contaminated needles. But of course, Brian was doing neither of those things because he was five years old.

But then Jennifer's mind went to a dark place. Her thoughts turned to her sister, who was a heroin addict, who still sometimes used drugs in their house. Jennifer had done her best to keep Brian away from her sister when she was doing that, but she wondered if somehow maybe he'd gotten poked with an HIV-infected needle when she wasn't paying attention. Or much, much worse, maybe a stranger who was infected with HIV had done the unspeakable and sexually abused her son.

Jennifer looked over at her son and just began to cry. Her children were absolutely everything to her. And so for now, Jennifer knew she had to focus on just finding a way to keep her son alive. So she turned to Dr. Steele Green and told her that she was willing to do whatever it took to help Brian. Two years later, Jennifer stood in her kitchen helping her son, Brian Jr., wiggle into a special backpack.

Brian was miraculously still alive, but just barely. This special backpack he was wearing was connected to a feeding tube that led into little Brian's stomach. He needed a liquid diet to survive because he basically always vomited if he ate solid food. But both Jennifer and Brian agreed that it was a worthy trade-off because he'd beaten all expectations and lived long past the five months his doctors had estimated.

But it wasn't easy to get by. Because Brian required so much help every single day, Jennifer had been forced to quit her job. And because her ex-boyfriend, Brian Sr., still wouldn't send child support payments, Jennifer and her kids had to live off of food stamps and other welfare programs. And just from a medical perspective, it took a lot of work for Brian just to make it through each day.

After getting his backpack secured, Jennifer walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a massive medication tray. She carefully doled out 23 different pills for Brian to take. Once Brian had taken all of his medications, Jennifer took him by the hand and they went outside to wait for the school bus. Because there was still so much fear around AIDS, little Brian was not allowed to ride on the standard school bus with most of the other kids. Instead, he had to ride on another bus for children with special needs.

Jennifer's heart broke just thinking about the bullying Brian had to endure at school. Bullies called him all sorts of names, and they mocked him for the bulky hearing aids he now had to wear all the time after losing 80% of his hearing. But through it all, Brian remained relentlessly optimistic.

Jennifer was so proud of his ability to remain positive despite all the suffering he'd endured. And so Jennifer did her best to not let her own fears and her own anxieties get in the way of her son's childhood. Now, just keeping her son alive basically consumed all of Jennifer's waking hours. But she also had one other major concern about her son: figuring out how he'd actually been infected with the HIV virus in the first place.

A few minutes later, the bus pulled up in front of their house. Jennifer hugged her son goodbye, and then he climbed on board the bus and the bus took off, and then Jennifer went back inside her home. After she got dressed, she called Detective Kevin Wilson down at the St. Charles County Sheriff's Office. For the past two years, Detective Wilson had worked tirelessly to try to figure out how Brian had gotten HIV.

The detective had tested the blood of at least 30 people who had spent time with Brian Jr., including Jennifer's sister and her friends, but none of them had been HIV positive, so this very likely ruled out transmission from drugs. The detective had also found no indication that little Brian had ever been sexually abused by anyone, so it was highly unlikely he got HIV that way either.

But there was one lead that Detective Wilson was still working on, and that was what Jennifer was calling him about today. Detective Wilson assured her that he was close to cracking the case, but there were still some loose ends to tie up. This was a delicate situation, and he had to be absolutely sure he was right before he made his move. Before they hung up, Detective Wilson promised Jennifer that little Brian would get the justice he deserved.

A few months later, in December of 1998, Jennifer sat down in the witness stand at the front of a St. Louis County courtroom. Her hands shook as she looked to her right at the judge. Right out in front of her, she saw there were news reporters, jury members, and at the defendant's table, her ex-boyfriend, Brian Stewart. He stared at her with cold, hateful eyes.

Jennifer swore to tell the truth and then took a deep breath. Speaking into a small microphone, she explained that she broke up with Brian Sr. in 1991. She said they fought bitterly over child support payments and at one point Brian even threatened her. Brian insisted that Brian Jr. was not his son and Jennifer should stop asking him to give her money because after all, Brian Jr. wouldn't even live past the age of five.

Jennifer testified that way back when little Brian was first treated for asthma, his father showed up at the hospital totally unannounced and convinced her to leave the room to go on a break. And when she came back from that break, their son was screaming. Brian Sr. had left quickly, and that was the last time he ever saw his son. Little Brian seemed okay for the next four years until he suddenly developed confusing and terrifying medical problems.

Jennifer's voice broke as she recounted all the painful memories. The prosecuting attorney thanked her and she stepped down from the witness stand. Then the attorney turned to the jury and explained that the answer to this mystery could be found in one place: Brian Sr.'s job. Brian Sr. worked as a hospital lab technician who was responsible for drawing blood from patients. He had access to tons of blood samples, including blood from people who are sick with infectious diseases.

Brian Sr.'s work was the missing puzzle piece. With it, the prosecution could explain exactly what happened to little Brian. It went like this: Brian Stewart was an abusive boyfriend who never wanted to be a father, even though he pretended to be very enthusiastic at first. Once he moved out, he was angry over child support payments, so he hatched a plan to make them go away.

On the day that 11-month-old little Brian Jr. was supposed to leave the hospital, Brian Sr. showed up carrying his lab coat. Inside his coat pocket was a vial of blood he'd stolen from the phlebotomy lab where he worked. He told Jennifer to go take a break and he would watch the baby, and then while she was gone, he used a tiny butterfly needle to inject his infant son with that contaminated blood, hoping it would eventually kill the baby.

That blood came from a patient who was obviously HIV positive. So for the next four years, little Brian lived with the HIV virus in his body until it transformed into full-blown AIDS. And by the time the doctors figured out what was happening, the disease had already progressed seemingly beyond hope.

Ultimately, Brian Sr. would be sentenced to life in prison. The story of what he'd done to his own baby son made international news. People were absolutely horrified, but they were also inspired by Brian Jr.'s resilience. In the years following the trial, Brian Jr. continued beating the odds. He made it through elementary and middle school. At 13, he began to find comfort in Christianity, which he said allowed him to forgive his father.

Incredibly, Brian Jr. is still alive today. His diagnosis seemed like a death sentence in 1996, but with new scientific advancements, today, AIDS is actually a fairly treatable disease. Brian Jr. now works as a motivational speaker and he runs a nonprofit called Hope is Vital that aims to reduce discrimination against those living with HIV and AIDS.

From Ballin Studios and Wondery, this is Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries, hosted by me, Mr. Ballin.

A quick note about our stories. We use aliases sometimes because we don't know the names of the real people in the story. And also, in most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on a lot of research. And a reminder, the content in this episode is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This episode was written by Karis Allen Pash Cooper. Our editor is Heather Dundas. Sound design is by Andre Pluss.

Thank you.

Script editing is by Scott Allen and Evan Allen. Our coordinating producer is Matub Zare. Executive producers are myself, Mr. Ballin, and Nick Witters. For Wondery, our head of sound is Marcelino Villapondo. Senior producers are Laura Donna Palavoda and Dave Schilling. Senior managing producer is Ryan Lohr. Our executive producers are Erin O'Flaherty and Marshall Louis for Wondery. She struck him with her motor vehicle. She had been under the influence and then she left him there.

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Was it a crime of passion? If you believe the prosecution, it's because the evidence was so compelling. This was clearly an intentional act. And his cause of death was blunt force trauma with hypothermia. Or a corrupt police cover-up. If you believe the defense theory, however, this was all a cover-up to prevent one of their own from going down. Everyone had an opinion.

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