JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Around this time last year, a prominent Jacksonville power couple had the world in their hands.
Lakesha Burton, who spent 24 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, ran for sheriff, became News4JAX’s Crime and Safety Analyst and had just been appointed to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s cabinet as the Director of Community Initiatives.
Lakesha’s husband Greg Burton spent 27 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and at that time serving as Chief of the Duval Schools Police Department.
But everything changed in an instant when their life was rocked by a life-threatening medical emergency.
Greg suffered a major stroke on Sept. 29, 2023, and had to step down as Chief of Police.
And as his main caregiver, Lakesha also stepped away from the spotlight.
One year later, she’s publicly sharing the painful details about what happened, what doctors call Greg’s miraculous recovery, and the major challenge the couple is still working to overcome.
They both sat down with News4JAX Anchor Joy Purdy, and Lakesha recalled how she was on her way to work when her son called, saying Greg was having a medical emergency.
When Lakesha arrived at the hospital, doctors explained that her husband had suffered a massive stroke that sent him straight into surgery.
“He was paralyzed on the right side [of his body] and honestly, he didn’t even know who I was,” Lakesha said.
As painful as Lakesha said it was for the love of her life not to recognize her, she recounted Greg’s three other strokes in past years, between 2012 and 2015.
Greg recovered then, and Lakesha said she wasn’t giving up this time despite witnessing Greg suffer a seizure just a few days after his latest stroke.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation where you begged God,” she said sternly. “I begged God for Greg’s life. I begged him to take the swelling [away from Greg’s brain]. I just begged him. And I said, ‘Bring him out [of this crisis] and I will not complain about anything.’”
Lakesha also said she told Greg as he suffered from the temporary amnesia, “You’re going to fall in love with me because I’m going to take care of you.”
A couple of days later as his memory began returning, Lakesha says he started responding by squeezing her hand. When he gave her a kiss, Lakesha said she knew all would be OK.
“I was like, ‘Thank you, Lord,’ and that’s when I first started learning about aphasia,” she said.
Aphasia is the inability to understand language, or the inability to formulate language, or both.
Greg is afflicted with both, which is called global aphasia.
Aphasia can happen when the brain suffers trauma, like a stroke.
Lakesha said that in Greg’s case, he knows what he wants to say but he can’t create the words.
And when he hears someone talk to him, it’s as though he’s hearing a different language.
“There’s a disconnect from where the damage was from the brain to where it tells you to use those words,” Lakesha said.
For the next year, Greg’s determination and discipline were pushed to the limit, as he’s undergone intense therapies at Brooks Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville, learning how to walk, brush his teeth, and even eat again.
Amazingly, a year later, Greg has regained full movement on his right side and enjoys activities like golf and basketball with his family.
Today, the one major hurdle left is the language barrier.
During the interview with News4JAX, Lakesha and Joy invited Greg to join them in the living room, as he had been sitting in the adjacent kitchen area while they talked.
That’s when Lakesha reached for a dry-erase board that was lying nearby which the couple uses to communicate.
“Everything he did before, he still does now,” she explained. “He’s just is not verbal.”
When Joy asked Lakesha if Greg would ever be back to 100 percent, Lakesha smiled.
“They say it’s different for everybody,” she answered. “What I can tell you is that Greg has severe damage where his stroke was, so people ask me all the time, ‘Is he going to be able [to completely recover]?’ I don’t know.”
What Lakesha said she is sure of is that if his recovery takes the rest of her life, she is ready.
“I am so honored to care for him,” she said proudly, as the tears began to flow. “I love him so much. He means the world to me. He’s taken care of me and our family all of these years. He has supported every single thing I’ve ever wanted to do, without a doubt, he always put me first.”
Also, reflecting on the past year, Lakesha said, “I miss my conversations with him, you know? But I still conversate with him. This is my best friend. We talk about everything. So I just learned how to communicate in a different way.”
“He told me that I exceeded my vows,” Lakesha said, wiping away tears. “He wrote that down, I exceeded my vows.”
Greg interjected at this moment of the interview, gesturing as he tried to convey a message but his words were a repeat of the same unintelligible phrase over and over.
Lakesha acknowledged Greg’s efforts with a kiss.
“I told him,” she said while gazing fondly at Greg. “I said, I’ll be your voice until your words come back.”
You can watch Joy’s entire visit and discussion with The Burtons on Joy’s new podcast “Discover the Joy: The Purdy Podcast”, during which Lakesha discusses more details about their journey along Greg’s road to recovery.
Joy also spoke with a cofounder of the local Aphasia Center at Brooks Rehab in Jacksonville, which people from across the country visit for treatment for the disorder.
Lakesha said Greg loves messages, cards or letters, and reading helps reinforce the healing of his brain. If you’d like to send well wishes to the Burtons, you can email them: Lakesha.Burton05@gmail.com.
You can also send them a card or letter to P.O. Box 56287, Jacksonville, FL 32241.