VANDALIA, Ill. — Colin Ledbetter wasn’t expected to make it.
And, when he did, the St. Louis police officer who survived a shooting wasn’t expected to regain much function.
Now, nearly two years after he lost enough blood to fill his body three times over, he’s finding a new path that includes giving back and some giving in.
“I’m nearing the end of the road with the department,” Ledbetter said Tuesday, his official last day on the police department’s payroll. “My neurologist actually told me that I just wasn't going to be able to go back.
“So, I kind of had to come to terms with that.”
Along with his parents and sister, another person has been at his side through it all. This past fall, she became Mrs. Montana Ledbetter.
“That was a special day for me and Montana,” he said. “She stuck through the hospital with me and all of that.
“It was very special moment for both of us.”
Ledbetter is planning to start a new job next week working alongside his father at a car dealership in his hometown of Vandalia.
“He's got a life that’s changed,” his father said. “He was planning on being in the National Guard and the police department until he retired.
“So, then he had to revamp it. And then he tried to go back and wanted to, but then had to rethink his life. So, it's been a challenge. It's been pretty tough for him. But he's got a good attitude about it. And he’s got a good sense of humor about everything, as much as you can in this situation.”
Colin Ledbetter hasn't required any additional procedures since the shooting, but a bovine stent used to repair his severed femoral artery is beginning to cause some concerns.
"Bovine is from a cow, and they don't know if it's expanding or if it's actually deteriorating," he said. "So that's kind of what I'm going to figure out at the end of the month."
Also by Colin Ledbetter’s side through many of the milestones he’s reached during his recovery has been his partner, Nathan Spiess. Spiess, too, was shot during the same incident on Jan. 26, 2022. He has since returned to active duty.
Spiess required eight units of blood to survive his injuries.
Ledbetter needed 39.
Now, Colin Ledbetter is on a mission to donate as much blood as it took to save his life back to the Red Cross.
“I’m on my fourth unit,” Ledbetter said Tuesday at Moose Lodge 1447 in Vandalia, Ill. The Rotary Club dedicated the blood drive to Ledbetter, who stayed at the event all day even though he donated at the start of it.
He said he can only donate one unit of blood every three months.
So, his mission is going to take years.
A few people patted him on his arm and smiled at him as he lay on the table, donating his own donated blood.
Others looked at him from afar, smiling at him and shaking hands and sharing hugs with his parents.
Whenever he’s in public and someone knows Colin Ledbetter's story, people often reach out to touch or hug him.
It's almost as if they just need to touch the man who defied expectations.
For more information on where you can donate blood, use the Red Cross' online blood drive finder.