 David Shawn Mixon |
Mixon and several fraternity brothers were playing a pick-up game in the Allen Athletics and Recreation Center when Mixon collapsed at approximately 5:20 p.m. Paramedics responded immediately, and transported him to Saint Clare Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead by attending physician Dr. Jack Hu at 5:49 p.m. Montgomery County Coroner David Hunt determined the cause of death to be Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
Mr. Mixon was a senior psychology major at Wabash, where he lived in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He is survived by his mother, Denise Robinson, of Nashville, Tennessee, two sisters, Angel and Shannon, and a brother, Michael. His father, David Mixon, is deceased.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the loss of David Shawn Mixon,” said Wabash College President Andrew T. Ford. “Our hearts and prayers are with his mother and family, as well as his classmates and fraternity brothers. It’s simply tragic that a young life was taken before its time.”
“Shawn, along with his father and younger brother, were diagnosed with a condition known as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy,” said Dr. Frank Fish, Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Vanderbilt University. “The two brothers have been followed here at Vanderbilt University. This condition can be caused by a variety of defects in several of the proteins involved in cardiac muscle contractility. Overall, this condition carries a low-moderate risk of sudden death, usually in association with vigorous exertion, and is one of the more common causes of sudden death in athletes. For this reason, individuals with this condition are excluded from competitive sports. When a patient is thought to be at high risk, an implantable defibrillator (pacemaker-like device to automatically recognize and treat cardiac arrest) is usually recommended. Unfortunately, the accepted markers of this risk are less predictive than we would like.
“Shawn, as of his last evaluation, would have met none of the criteria suggesting he was at high risk for dying suddenly, though exclusion from competitive sports was reinforced at each visit,” said Fish. “The death of his father since his last evaluation, apparently from the same condition, would have weighed heavily in the ongoing re-assessment of this young man's risk at an upcoming clinic visit.”
Born June 2, 1981, Mixon attended Hume Fogg High School in Nashville, where he was active in cross country, wrestling, baseball, the Model UN, Helping Hands Club, and Political Action Club. At Wabash, he served Phi Kappa Psi as Sergeant at Arms.
Funeral arrangements in Nashville are pending.