Back in the game

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

Long before he had ever heard the horrifying words "Necrotizing Fasciitis," Jason Burkett was a promising talent on Southern California's youth basketball scene.

A strong sixth-grader standing 5-foot-7, Burkett envisioned himself earning a college scholarship and worked diligently on his game to make his dream a reality.

On a warm day in the summer of 1994, all that changed.

While visiting his father's construction site in Pahrump, the 12-year-old Burkett stepped into a floor air conditioning duct, suffering a deep cut under his right kneecap.

Over the next several months, what initially seemed like a fairly minor wound would very nearly cost the youngster his life, as Burkett fought a rare disease commonly known as "flesh-eating bacteria."

But despite his near-death experience, and the loss of much of the tissue, fat and skin in his right leg, Burkett never gave up hope he'd get back on the basketball court.

With that goal pushing him forward, Burkett underwent a grueling series of major surgeries to repair his leg, followed by a difficult rehabilitation.

And now, five years after his harrowing experience, his hard work and faith in himself are being rewarded at Cimarron-Memorial High School, where Burkett is a member of the Spartans' varsity basketball team.

"It's truly amazing," Cimarron coach Mike Brascia said. "I don't think anybody can truly understand what he's been through. He's really earned everything he's accomplished."

Growing up in Apple Valley, Calif., Burkett's life centered on his love of basketball. As a young player, he was a solid performer on several club teams, garnering regular MVP honors and earning a spot on a local all-star travel team.

"From the time he was two or three years old, he wanted to play basketball," Burkett's mother, Susan, said. "At one point he was in the top 10 or 12 players in Southern California for his age group."

Burkett's medical problems began innocently enough, when he suffered a U-shaped cut on his leg on June 28, 1994. At the time, neither he nor his parents could have guessed what would result from the incident.

"He'd had stitches before, and at 12 you see your kids as healthy and strong," Susan Burkett said.

Two days later, the Burkett family went to see a specialist to make sure the injury was healing properly. Fearing the leg might be broken, the doctor opted to encase it in a cast. Within hours, Burkett's leg began to swell to dangerous proportions.

"From that point, Jason went downhill fast," Susan Burkett recalls. "We didn't know what it was, but we knew something was wrong."

In the days that followed, Jason began to display flu-like symptoms, including vomiting and chills. When his parents brought him to see his doctor, they immediately knew something was wrong.

"When the nurse took a look at him, we didn't like the look on his face," Susan Burkett said. "When our doctor got there, he started making phone calls. They didn't know what was wrong with him."

From that point, Jason Burkett remembers nothing about his brush with death. Heavily medicated and in severe septic shock, Burkett was blissfully unaware of the events that followed.

On the evening of July 4, 1994, a team of nurses and doctors rushed Burkett from his local hospital to California's Loma Linda Medical Center.

"The lead team nurse had said she didn't even know if he'd make it down there," Susan Burkett said. "We were in total shock by that point. We cried the whole way there."

Informed that their son might not live through the night, Tom and Susan Burkett waited while doctors attempted to determine the cause of Jason's sudden decline.

When told their son had Necrotizing Fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating bacteria, they were stunned. They were briefed about the long odds for survival and became hysterical.

"(The doctor) said the fatality rate was 98 percent and for the survivors that do make it, it usually requires amputation," Susan Burkett said. "We freaked out totally. I was screaming, 'No no no. I don't care what it takes, he will make it.' "

The disease, which the Center for Disease Control estimates is diagnosed 500-1,500 times annually in the United States, usually enters the body through openings in the skin, from small paper cuts to deeper wounds, such as the cut on Burkett's leg.

Doctors believe the bacteria is usually carried in Strep A bacteria, a bacteria that causes strep throat. Although not contagious, it can be transferred through direct contact between someone carrying it and someone with an opening in his skin.

Fighting the disease

After an unsuccessful attempt to bleed out the disease through five incisions, it became clear to doctors they would need to remove all areas touched by the bacteria -- no easy task considering the disease now ran from Jason's calf to his thigh.

"They couldn't tell how far it had gone, so they kept cutting away the areas they thought it had spread to," Susan Burkett said.

Amputation was discussed. And though the Burketts signed the paperwork, they begged doctors to try all other means to save their son first.

"We signed it because his life was of the utmost importance," Susan Burkett said. "But basketball meant so much to him. When he was in fourth grade he started telling us he'd go to college on a basketball scholarship."

As it turned out, doctors were able to avoid amputation, although a series of seven surgeries has taken its toll on his leg.

"They had to remove all the layers of skin and fat above the muscle," Susan Burkett said. "They started at his lower leg and starting carving away. They had two nurses pass out because of the sight of the wound."

Two skin graft surgeries followed. Hooked up to machines and fed intravenously, Burkett spent the better part of four months in the Loma Linda intensive care unit.

When he finally awoke, he faced a difficult rehabilitation period, as he attempted to use muscles that had been dormant for more than 15 weeks.

"It was hard," Burkett said. "I had to re-learn how to do everything. I couldn't hold cards in my hand; my knees wouldn't bend."

But Burkett remained positive throughout his ordeal, relying on his love of basketball to get him through the tough times.

"Everything I was doing was building up to playing basketball again," Burkett said. "Saying 'Why me?' doesn't help. You have to work through it."

Return to the court

Burkett finally left the hospital in late 1994, six months after being admitted. The following year, his parents moved to Las Vegas, and soon began looking for youth basketball teams for their son.

"He had to walk up and down the court, which was tough," Susan Burkett said. "When you're used to being on top and then something happens and you're down on the bottom of the barrel, it's a hard thing to take."

Nevertheless, Burkett stayed the course. Still very tall for his age, he earned a spot on the Cimarron freshman team as a ninth-grader, and on the junior varsity squad the following year.

As a junior, he opted to take a year off to concentrate on his schoolwork, enrolling in a full slate of honors courses and earning a 3.8 unweighted GPA.

And then, with that barrier behind him, Burkett set his sights on his ultimate goal -- playing varsity basketball. Now a mammoth 6-11, 260-pounder, he earned a spot on the Spartans' spring and summer league teams, immediately impressing his new coaches.

"He's got a nice shot and he takes up a lot of room," said Cimarron assistant coach Gill Mullen, who works with the Spartan big men. "He's a very teachable kid. I've really enjoyed working with him."

Added Brascia, "He presents a lot of problems against a lot of teams. He's great around the basket, he seals well, he pivots well. He does a lot of little things well."

Still, Burkett has been forced to wait for his chance to make an impact. A recurring preseason ankle injury set back his conditioning and he only recently began working his way into the Cimarron lineup.

But Brascia knows that as the conference season heats up, the 6-11 man in the middle could be a very key player for the defending 4A state champs.

"The more he gets in the flow, the more confidence we'll have in him, and the more confidence he'll have," Brascia said. "He could wind up being a key guy for us."

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. But you can be sure that either way, Jason Burkett won't be feeling sorry for himself. Instead, he'll be enjoying a life few could have predicted he'd get to lead.

"I definitely view things differently," Jason said. "I take advantage of things more and realize how much more important the little things in life are."

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