Ricky Burris. Photo courtesy of America Thurman.
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Update as of Oct 18
Thurman, in a social media post, wrote that there has been no change in Burris’ condition since Monday and he is stable, though at times running a fever.
“He has a really strong heart, we did get the news this morning they believe he has a little case of pneumonia. They postponed putting in the trachea till Friday. We’re praying that his brain stays the same, with no more swelling or bleeding into tomorrow so he can start the healing process,” she writes. “He’s still sedated , which is probably for the better considering his injuries.”
Thurman mentioned that they were about to start T-shirt sales, but didn’t provide further information with more specifics to come later.
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Early Saturday morning, Oct. 14, while off duty in Celina, Tennessee — a town northeast of Nashville and close to the Kentucky-Tennessee border — Ricky Burris, a deputy with the Barren County Detention Center, flipped his truck several times and was ejected from his car.
The reason that his truck went off the road is unknown at this point, America Thurman, a Glasgow native who is engaged to Burris, said in a social media post.
According to Jailer Aaron Shirley, Burris was found on the road by a passerby and taken to Cookeville to be flown to Vanderbilt. Thurman said they wanted to fly him directly to Vanderbilt from the crash site, but were unable to due to the weather.
Burris suffered road rash “from his head to his hip,” a crushed pelvis, a fractured femur, skull and shoulder blade, and has bleeding on his brain. Once at Vanderbilt, Thurman wrote, the doctors performed surgery for five hours on his left hip with hopes of working on his right in the coming days.
“The surgeon said he did pretty well under anesthesia, and he believes they have everything where it needs to be,” Thurman posted. “In a couple days they want to try to go in for another procedure on his right side.”
Through an update on social media Thurman posted Monday, Oct. 16, she revealed that she received “news that were hard to hear” with the hospital staff having to move Burris from a ventilator to a Tracheotomy — a hole that surgeons make through the front of the neck and into the windpipe — due to a collapsed lung.
“My heart is shattered, I just want him to be okay but it’s a day by day thing,” Thurman wrote. “They want to try to repair as much of his physical injuries as possible, but it’s going to take time. The doctor said she was hopeful he will be able to make a full recovery but it’s almost too soon to know for sure and the way his injuries are progressing have them very worried.”
In the newest update Thurman posted she said he had “purposeful movements,” which she said is a good sign, but still hadn’t opened his eyes, though it appears he is trying. She said, over the phone, that Burris was back for surgery on his right side right now and it is expected to take longer than his first surgery. Thurman, along with Shirley, ask for prayers for Burris during this time.
“He’s so loved, I just know that god has a plan for us,” Thurman wrote. “We’re still hanging in there, taking it day by day, and moment by moment.”
“The one advantage he does have is he’s a young man, full of life, hopefully he’ll bounce back quicker than somebody like me. We ask everyone for prayers for him.” Shirley said.
At the Barren County Fiscal Court meeting on Oct. 17, Shirley mentioned the possibility of holding some sort of fundraiser for Burris, the specifics of which are still undecided.
This story is ongoing and the article will be updated as more information becomes available.
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