By Suzie Ziegler
ST. LOUIS — When Officer Colin Ledbetter was shot and critically wounded last month, his family wasn’t sure if he would make it. Instead, Ledbetter continued to improve. Now the officer is set to be released from the hospital Tuesday to continue his recovery, reported KSDK.
Ledbetter and a second officer, Nathan Speiss, were shot on January 26 while pursuing a homicide suspect. Speiss was shot in the leg, but Ledbetter was shot just below his vest, according to the report. The bullet severed his femoral artery.
Just days after the shooting, Ledbetter’s father said his son was fighting for his life but doing “better than expected.”
“He’s still not conscious, and there’s still a long way to go,” Steve Ledbetter then told the St. Louis-Dispatch.
Ledbetter’s fast improvement has astounded his doctors.
“The fact that he had lost that much blood and has had this miraculous recovery is a miracle,” Dr. Douglas Schuerer told KSDK. “Given how quickly he’s gotten better here in just a week or two, I would anticipate continued improvement.”
It’s not clear yet how much improvement Ledbetter’s family can expect, but Schuerer is hopeful it will be “close to baseline.”
Photos shared to Twitter on Tuesday show Ledbetter smiling and walking out of the hospital.
NEXT: Continuing care for injured officers: What police leaders need to know
https://twitter.com/GabrielaVtv/status/1496195489745805319 https://twitter.com/jhuda/status/1496200949962059782 https://twitter.com/jhuda/status/1491533927592378370