SWHS graduate dies after accident at pool

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August 25, 2009

By TRICIA NEAL, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Tue Aug 25, 2009, 09:41 PM EDT

Somerset — “Everyone should love their children with all their heart. You never know when they’ll be taken away.”

Grieving mother Gale Burris offered those wise words yesterday, less than 24 hours after the sudden death of her son, 22-year-old Thomas Nathan Burris of Bronston, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.

Burris died Monday, more than a week after he was injured in a swimming pool accident at his girlfriend’s home on Slavey Lane.

Thomas’ sister, Heather Burris, said Thomas and his friends were playing around the sand-bottomed pool in the early morning hours of August 15 when he attempted to flip into the pool.

“He slipped and went head first into the water,” Heather said.

When Thomas came to the water’s surface, he was floating face-down.

“His friends thought he was joking around,” Heather said.

But when they rolled him onto his back, he told them, “Help me. I think I broke my neck.”

Thomas’ friends stabilized him in the pool while they waited for emergency personnel to arrive.

He was eventually airlifted to the UK Medical Center.

“When they were getting ready to airlift him, he said, ‘I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so scared,’” Gale said.

Thomas endured a four hour surgery on his broken neck.

“He was paralyzed from the chest down from swelling around his spine,” Gale said.

“They thought he would regain some feeling.”

By Monday, doctors thought Thomas’ condition was improving, and they decided to perform a tracheotomy so he could breathe without the help of a respirator.

“Two hours after the surgery, his tracheotomy dislodged,” Gale said.

“It blocked his airway, and he went into cardiac arrest.”

Thomas’ father, Bob Burris, said medical staff at the hospital told them they needed to leave the room so they could give Thomas a bath.

“That was the last time we saw him alive,” Bob said.

“It dislodged when they turned him over for the bath.”

According to a report from the Fayette County Coroner’s Office, Thomas was pronounced dead “after suffering complications following a surgical procedure.”

The death is being investigated as accidental.

Thomas, a 2005 Southwestern High School graduate, had attended Pikeville College for two years, and was most recently a student at Somerset Community College.

“He was a good kid,” his mother said.

“He was liked by everyone. ... He knew a lot of people.”

Thomas was an avid bowler, and had competed at the national level.

The Burris family says Thomas’ girlfriend, Casie Foster, is “taking it hard.”

“She’s a sweet girl,” Gale said. “She would have made a wonderful daughter-in-law.”

A Facebook group called “Prayers for Thomas Burris” was created by a family friend shortly after he was hospitalized. More than 500 individuals had joined the group in the days following his accident.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Lake Cumberland Funeral Home. Gale Burris said she expects visitation for her son to be held Friday evening, with a funeral on Saturday.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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