Zackry Clarke Burckley (29) of Hardin County, Kentucky knows the value of hard work, and was previously employed as a store manager at Overstock Furniture and Mattress. He is also engaged to be married, and is expecting his firstborn child with his fiancé.
His daily routine was fairly regimented. He recalls, “Pretty much I just worked, went home, watched some YouTube…I did some outdoor stuff. I enjoyed kayaking quite a bit, and as much as I could I tried to be outside, at least in my hammock. There are a bunch of trails around Elizabethtown and Hardin County. I would try to get out and walk those as much as possible. Since the accident, I’ve been getting more back into gaming. Right now I’m playing Stellaris.”
One of Zack’s true passions though is music. “I listen to a lot of music. Especially music that yells at me. One of my favorite bands that’s helped me a lot lately with everything is Beartooth. They just put out an album right before my accident, and it’s a very uplifting album; the main message of it is just accepting yourself and loving yourself. Before the accident, I went to Louder Than Life last year, and I try to go to music festivals any time I get the chance or opportunity.”
On the evening of October 24th, 2023, a little after 6:30 p.m., Zack was on his way home when he had a seizure behind the wheel of his vehicle. “It happened right outside of the Hardin County Clerk’s Office. I was driving home after work, it was kind of a stressful day. Whenever I have a stressful day, that’s when my epilepsy starts acting up. The last thing that I remember before waking up in the hospital was me telling myself, ‘I don’t feel right, I need to pull over.’ That’s the last thing I was able to do was get the car off the road, but I couldn’t get into park.”
“Once the seizure actually set in, my foot slammed on the gas pedal, and I went flying across a field right into a tree going about 70 miles per hour. They had to use the jaws of life to get me out. The only thing that kept me in the vehicle was that my mom had pounded in my head since I was little to wear my seatbelt.” Zack notes his epilepsy started about 6 years ago as a result of a suicide attempt. “It was a stupid decision on my part. I attempted suicide due to a toxic relationship. Since then I’ve been on anti-epileptics, and I’ve been diagnosed with epilepsy. I’m very glad I’m still here. Before the accident I was extremely depressed, and wanted everything to end. Now that I’ve gotten so close to everything actually ending, I don’t want it to go away, especially now that I have a kid on the way. I hope that anyone who hears this story is inspired to keep on pushing. There were multiple times throughout my stay at the hospital where nobody would have looked at me sideways if I just gave up on myself and stopped pushing to get better. But I kept pushing, kept a positive attitude and only spent 8 days at UofL Hospital and 11 days at Frazier Rehabilitation Institute.”
Zack is expecting his first born child (Logan Clarke Burkley) on July 17, 2024 with his fiancée, Arilyn. “We got engaged as soon as I woke up from all of my medical procedures, because I was out for about two or three weeks in a medically induced coma. I had a stroke after my accident due to my injuries, and a blood clot had been sent to my brain…after I found out everything I had gone through, and that she had stuck with me through it all, I was like ‘This is the one, I have to propose to her.’ She was there with me through it all; she was in the ER with me when they were cutting my clothes off.”
Zack was initially taken to Baptist Health in Hardin County before eventually being transferred to UofL Hospital once they ascertained the extent of his injuries. He had broken his radius and ulna in his left arm, his left femur, left clavicle, right scapula/shoulder blade, a punctured lung and several broken ribs.
“I was eventually taken in for surgery, and during that time they found out that my carotid and vertebral artery was sheared, which is what allowed a clot to be sent to my brain and what eventually caused a stroke while I was in the hospital.” Zack began experiencing additional issues that were associated with his stroke, but they were resolved while he was in hospital. He was in a medically induced coma from October 27, 2023 through November 15, 2023.
After his surgical procedures, Zack was discharged around November 18, 2023. “It was kind of a transition from being in a dream state to being actually awake. My mom was asking me if I understood everything that happened, and I could only tell her that I thought I was in an accident but I didn’t know exactly how bad everything was. She started telling me, and I got to see the pictures of everything that had happened. There was a point right after surgery where they had a rod going through my leg at the bottom of the thigh to hold muscles in place so they wouldn’t lock up while the bone was healing. I saw photos of that and…it definitely makes me glad I wasn’t conscious for all of that. I did have a really bad case of ICU delirium though; they couldn’t find a sedative solution that would work for me because of how quickly my body metabolizes things.”
“It was really shocking at first; the last thing that I remembered was being on my way back home, and then I had dreams or dream-like memories since then (which I now understand as my brain filling in the memory gaps from what was missing). But I became more cognitive shortly before going into Frazier.”
Zack had a trach installed, and wasn’t allowed to eat any solid food or drinks for a little while. “I woke up and remembered the first thing I wanted was a cup of ice water. They were eventually able to give me ice chips at least. I couldn’t swallow or even talk when I first woke up, and they gave me a dry-erase board to write simple things on for those first few days.”
The UofL Health medical team was already making plans to get Zack up and moving again quickly. “They were talking about possibly getting me up and moving those last few days, getting a talking valve put on my trach and getting my leg strong enough to stand, which I could do by the time I arrived at Frazier.”
Zack began physical, occupational and speech therapy in short order upon his arrival at Frazier. “They started me off with cognitive and speech therapy, but after three days they observed that I didn’t have any cognitive deficits because of the stroke, for which I’m extremely thankful. I’ve been a nerd my entire life, so I was glad I didn’t have to do too much cognitive therapy. [Getting into physical and occupational therapy] I wanted to get done with it and get better as quickly as possible. That was my main thought process through my entire stay, was ‘Push yourself as hard as you can because you need to get home and you need to get back to work,’ because I have family on the way now, which I learned shortly after waking up. The moment I found out my fiancé was pregnant, it was time for that father's instinct to kick in and time to start taking care of everything.”
The UofL Health team was very impressed at the speed of Zack’s recovery. “Everyone was blown away at the progress I was making, and how quickly I was making that progress. A lot of people were shocked that I could talk afterwards, let alone that I was alive, especially after I showed them the pictures of the car after the accident.”
Zack had nothing but kind words for the UofL Health team. “I only have a few vague memories, but the Trauma II team was extremely helpful and extremely kind to me. We plan to take the baby up there after he’s born, and show them how I’m doing. We’re going to visit Frazier as well and show them how I’m doing; I told them I was going to run down the hallway next time I see them.”
Zack was discharged from Frazier on December 2nd, 2023. At the time of writing, he was pursuing either remote work or office work that he could do while his hand continues to recover. “The biggest thing I think about right now is that two more seconds of clarity, and I probably wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in right now. That’s been something I’ve dealt with my entire life; the universe has tried at every turn to kill me.” Besides the attempt on his life, Zack also got into some medication when he was much younger by accident, and at birth his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and didn’t take his first breath until 15 minutes after he was born. “The universe has tried to kill me at every turn, and every chance I get I spit in death’s face.”
Zack acknowledges that the path ahead may be challenging, but he remains optimistic in large part due to the support system around him. “I wouldn’t have the path I have if not for my support system. If not for my roommate, my mother, my sister and my fiancé, I wouldn’t have this same mindset.” All of these individuals have gone above and beyond, with Zack describing each of them as the shining light and people that have helped him get through such a dark time.
Looking ahead, there are a few bright spots ahead for Zack. “At this point, I’m pretty happy with the path I have ahead. I know I’ll be strong enough to be able to hold my son when he’s born, which was a big pushing force for me in recovery. I just have to keep on pushing to be strong enough to push him in a stroller, be strong enough to toss him in the air to catch him…I have to be more mindful of my health altogether now, because I’ve already had a stroke, which will be with me the rest of my life. I have to eat correctly and take care of my body so I can be here for him.” Zack and his fiancé are planning to do a small, private ceremony to celebrate their wedding in the months ahead. He plans to write a short story about his life experiences, and how he has cheated death several times in his life already. “Maybe I can use it to help motivate somebody to keep on pushing when it all seems like it’s going to fall apart.”
“If there’s one note I’d leave things on, it’d be a quote I’ve been reflecting on lately. ‘If you can laugh while the world is burning around you, you’ll be able to enjoy the trees that come from the ashes.”
Zackry Buckley.
Gentle and kind.
Trauma Survivor.
