A Tragic Loss

They say losing a child is one of the most challenging experiences a person can go through. Regina Mullen lost her son, Kyle, on February 4th after he had completed Hell Week as part of his training to become a Navy SEAL. Several weeks after his death, she was sorting through her mail and found a truly disturbing surprise; a bill for $3,170 for emergency services for her dead son. Understandably shaken, she called the Navy. It was an error, of course, one of many that had occurred in Mullen’s case. She also received an urn from the Navy with her son’s name misspelled.

Regina Mullen looks over a photo of her son Kyle in her Manalapan, NJ home before receiving his autopsy reports. Image Credit: Thomas P. Costello

Last Saturday, Regina Mullen, herself a Registered Nurse, received an Armed Forces Medical Examiner autopsy report, the findings she shared with the press. In short, it states that her son died from pneumonia during training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, near San Diego.

Quoting a description of events accompanying the report:

“(Kyle) had completed Hell Week and was being looked after by non-medical personnel to help him tend to his basic needs. He was in a wheelchair most of the time, unable to stand and walk on his own. He had reportedly been coughing/spitting up red-tinged fluid which had nearly filled a 36 oz. sports drink bottle.”