5 day forecast
Pitt football player recovering from stroke
Share with others:
Pitt football player Derrick Burns remains in the hospital, but he is recovering well after suffering a stroke on Tuesday.
Burns, a redshirt freshman fullback, was up and walking on Wednesday and has received an encouraging prognosis from doctors.
"He was doing fantastic [on Wednesday]," Dan Burns, his adoptive father, said this afternoon. "He was very upbeat. He's still very weak on the right side, but his prognosis is very good. He has massive blood clots in his brain, and they're working to dissolve those."
Dan Burns said the doctors elected not to perform surgery because they deemed it too risky. Doctors have not given a timetable for his release from the hospital, but Dan Burns said it could be a matter of "days or weeks."
The stroke likely will end Derrick's football career. Dan Burns said he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life.
"He'll still be a part of the team though," Dan Burns said. "That won't change."
Derrick Burns redshirted during the 2010 season and played one game last season.
First Published May 24, 2012 1:09 pm
