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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Boy Scout leader injured
Water-skiing accident
Friday, August 3, 2012
A local craftsman and Boy Scout leader was injured in a recent water-skiing accident.
Nelson “Burr” Fox III, owner of Burr Fox Specialized Woodworking and a veteran Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 326 in Martinsville, sustained back injuries July 27 at the Claytor Lake Aquatics Base. He was serving as the adult leader on a Scouting trip when the accident occurred.
The aquatics base is part of a Boy Scout Reservation.
Pam Allen, a representative of the Scout troop, said Fox is hospitalized at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. She said he underwent surgery Sunday and his condition is improving, but he will be hospitalized and undergoing rehabilitation “for quite some time.”
According to the troop’s website, Fox suffered a T-shaped break in a junction in his back with bone fragments near his spinal cord as well as another fracture nearby.
Rods and screws were implanted in Fox to help him recover from his injuries, the website said.
Allen said he had to lie flat in bed for five days around the time of his surgery, but now he is up walking “a little bit at a time.”
Still, “he’s in a lot of pain,” she said.
Fox is using a turtle shell-like brace to help him sit up, the website stated.
Allen said Fox is well-known in Henry County and Martinsville — especially to local Scouting enthusiasts and members of Broad Street Christian Church — for “his years of selfless giving and hard work” for the community.
When he was injured at the lake, she said, he was “doing what he loved to do best: spending time with the Scouts at camp.”
A fund has been set up for people who want to make contributions to help offset Fox’s medical costs and help his family through their hardship.
Checks can be made to the “Burr Fox Fund” and taken to any area branch of American National Bank, or they can be mailed to the Burr Fox Fund, Broad Street Christian Church, 106 Broad St., Martinsville, VA 24112.
Also, checks can be sent to the Burr Fox Fund, c/o Pam Allen, Scout Troop 326, 1005 Corn Tassel Trail, Martinsville, VA 24112.
