Shooting victim Burrows finally home after years in hospital

"One of the first things I did when I sat at home in my room alone, was shed a few tears. I was so excited to finally be here. And what made it even better was that a huge Liverpool flag was hanging in my room… a surprise from my friends Craig and Laquita Nesbitt. To this day, I haven’t even told my mother that I cried. But they were tears of joy.”

It has been a long road to recovery for 44-year-old Ralph Burrows, who, along with a friend, was shot by unknown assailants while riding a motorcycle along Mission Lane in Pembroke on the night of November 27, 2010.

At the time of the shooting, there was a gun war raging between 42, which is based in the area of the shooting, and Parkside. Between 2009 and 2010, close to a dozen men were killed as a result of the rivarly.

Neither Mr Burrows nor his friend were involved in any gang activity and it has been widely accepted that the men were mistakenly shot on that fateful November night. While Mr Burrows was hit twice, in the neck and in his foot, his friend suffered less extensive injuries. 

Despite the severity of his injuries, Mr Burrows says he remained conscious after the shooting. The bullet, which severed his spinal chord, remains lodged in his neck to this day. 

Paralysed from the neck down, Mr Burrows has accepted that he will never walk again, but the former soccer player says he sometimes forgets: “I was a very active person. There are still times when I wake up and try to get out of bed.”

Reflecting on what has happened to him, Mr Burrows says he made a commitment not to dwell on losing mobility and instead, embraced it. A former drug addict, Mr Burrows often tells people, “God wanted me to slow down and this was His way of doing it.”

He continues: “I was living a life of drugs and crime. I was living on the streets. I wouldn’t call it living, anyway… I was existing.”

After spending exactly two years after the shooting on a ward at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Mr Burrows was moved to the Continuing Care Unit, where he remained until he went home on June 6. Admitting he experienced frustrating moments concerning his health while at the CCU, Mr. Burrows says he is thankful for the care received and lauds the staff for helping him transition.

“I was ecstatic [to come home] because they had told me that I was never going to leave. The staff at CCU really came together to help me prepare myself to come home. They went above and beyond the call. I am grateful for that. I would never say that they did not take care of me — they did.”

He is also thankful to Gail Marshall and her colleagues at construction firm BCM McAlpine, who donated the ramp needed for his home: “I met her on Facebook. She and others that I have met on there have been very good to me.”

Sitting in the spacious backyard of his home on Father’s Day afternoon, Mr. Burrows told the Bermuda Sun he has no desire to venture out of the neighbourhood yet, as he wants to spend as much time with his mother, Elizabeth, who cares for him during the day: “I just want to spend quality time with her. Before the shooting, I hadn’t done so in years.”

Medical staff arrive at Mr Burrows home nightly at 9.30pm and remain with him until the next morning.

He also speaks with pride about his own son, Kijaun Bean, 23. “He is a good son. He works hard and is into music. He has called me twice today to check on me. That means a lot.”

Drug-free since the shooting, Mr Burrows says he is enjoying his life now too much to even consider using again, despite drugs being more accessible now that he is away from the hospital: “I have no desire to live that life again. I would disappoint too many people. And I don’t want to hurt all the people who have stood by me. 

“When I was in the hospital, I was offered [drugs], but I refused. Plus, how could I do that when I am trying to encourage the youth to be good people? I would be a hypocrite.” [See separate story.]

As for his shooters, Mr Burrows says he doesn’t dwell on whether they will be brought to justice one day, but he has this message for all who indulge in gun crimes: “You guys have to realize that you are not only hurting the victims, whether you kill them or not. 

“You are hurting their families as well. And when you have to face your consequences in the courts, you are hurting your families, too.”