When Jeffrey Carron was a young boy, he often emerged from his dad’s van covered in ink.

 

His parents had married young and divorced when Carron, the youngest of three, entered elementary school. “My father (Win) was working in a grocery store and got a loan to buy a newspaper route in 1977,” explained Carron. “He ran this for the next 25 years, getting up at 3 o’clock in the morning—every morning—to deliver 800 to 1,100 newspapers. With this, he was able to put me through private high school and support me in college and medical school.”

 

Carron learned quickly “while riding around in a stuffy van,” he recalled, that a professional career after finishing college was more appealing to him than delivering newspapers.

 

“My mother (Jennifer) was always a big source of support for sports and school,” said Carron. “She encouraged me to think big and follow my dream to be a physician.”

 

When Carron was awarded a partial scholarship to Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, it was a huge confidence boost, particularly because neither parent had graduated from college. Inspired, he went on to become class valedictorian in 1987.

 

“I’d decided on medicine when I was in high school, but when I was 19, there was a brief setback when I was injured in an RV fire,” said Carron, who spent a month in the hospital, half of that in intensive care, with burns over a third of his body and in his airway. Since then, he’s undergone at least a dozen surgeries for skin grafts and airway reconstructions. “I just kept on charging and graduated from Saint Louis University a semester early. Now, every morning when I plug my tracheotomy tube and talk to my wife in my hoarse voice, I’m reminded of how lucky I am it wasn’t worse. I learned so much about the importance of empathy, communication, and compassion in medicine.”

 

His injury had an impact on his specialty of choice; initially, Carron thought that he was not cut out emotionally to do surgery or treat children.

 

“Ironically, I do surgery of the ears, nose, throat, and head and neck on children every day,” he said. “I think my own personal challenges have led me to this specialty since we treat airway disorders, but I have become most passionate about surgery for ears and hearing.”

 

Carron earned a medical degree from Tulane School of Medicine in 1995, and completed his residency at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.—in general surgery in 1997 and otolaryngology in 2001. He completed a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology in 2002 at the University of Washington Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle, Wash.

 

Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, Carron specializes in pediatric otolaryngology, focusing on newborn hearing screening and postoperative therapies for tonsillectomy and tympanostomy tube placement. He was instrumental in establishing the first cochlear implant program at UMC and has successfully implanted more than 100 children since its inception, many for the children at Magnolia Speech School, where he was recently appointed to their Board.

 

“We’re always re-evaluating our success in pediatric cochlear implant patients and seeing how we can do things better,” said Carron, who has more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and has presented at several national meetings such as the American Society for Pediatric Otolaryngology and the Society for Ear, Nose, and Throat Advances in Children. “We want to be able to offer the technology to all children who can benefit from it, but at the same time make sure that the resources are being used well,” he explained. “As you would expect, we face enormous challenges in our state overcoming the obstacles that poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance can present in trying to treat young children.”

 

Carron has an eye on studying healthcare finance, perhaps even earning a master’s degree. “As we face unsustainable rising costs in medicine, our collective financial future depends on using healthcare resources wisely and keeping our workers healthy,” he said.

 

Even though many might consider his injuries at 19 as his greatest challenge, it wasn’t.

 

“Honestly, the greatest challenge I’ve had has been learning to trust in myself and thank the Lord for my blessings. Listening to my wife and family for support has been crucial in making some important decisions in my life and career.”

 

Carron, his wife, Lisa, and their two sons, CJ, 9, and Andrew, 5, love to play sports and horse around. In his spare time, he indulges a recently developed hobby—watercolor painting—and enhances his vast library of trivia knowledge—classic rock in particular—or hops on his bike. “Riding … can be therapeutic, with the beautiful scenery, fresh air, and the endorphin release,” he said.