On a cold, icy night on March 1st Burke Thomas was in a rollover accident while coming home from a late-night concert in Carnation that was a special event for the birthday of Roger Fisher, the guitarist of Heart.  Not more than a few miles from being home, Burke entered a dangerous stretch of SR900 that is extremely dark and wet due to poor drainage and streams near the road, and he thinks he hit ice, but he barely remembers, and after the car rolled 3 to 4 times, Burke  was ejected from the can and ended up in a wet ditch at the side of the road in excruciating pain.  Luckily, nearby motorists were able to call for help, which got Burke to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  Burke was in ICU for several days, where he had to have his ear reattached, his body stabilized for spinal bruising, and a head wound.  He is still in the hospital now ever since the accident, and he had surgery to help relieve spinal swelling and pressure and treat a condition called spinal stenosis.  Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spaces in your spine, which can put pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine.  Since the surgury, Burke is beginning to regain function in his hands, feets, and legs, and he is working hard to get better, even practicing drumming right in his hospital bed.

We estimate at least $40,000 of out-of-pocket medical expenses for Burke, so we would like to get as many people to help out with this.  We all know that Burke is one of the humblest guys around, so we are excited and motivated to raise as much money as possible to help our favorite working musician, music teacher extraordinaire, and loving friend.

Any additional money raised will be allocated towards the ongoing physical therapy Burke will require to keep performing as a professional musician and teacher.  Before the accident, Burke had recently accomplished so much-playing with Roger Fischer, building a music school from the ground up, working with potential musicians and music industry students at an innovative high school in Issaquah, and even doing a career day in music for several junior high schools in Issaquah.  We want to support Burke to get back to the excellent musician status that supports us all.