SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Saturday marks exactly one year since San Diego Police Sergeant Anthony Elliott was shot in the head while trying to arrest a domestic violence suspect in 4S Ranch.
Not only did he survive, he's thriving.
"It's been good," he said during an interview with ABC 10News Anchor Jared Aarons on Friday. "It was hard in the beginning. It still is hard, physically and mentally. But things are good. I feel like I'm as recovered as I am gonna be. It's hard to believe it's already been 12 months."
Those 12 months have been full of challenges and success as Elliott recovered. ABC 10News has followed through on his journey for the past year. He's had brain surgery. He's gone to a special rehab facility in Colorado. He's built a gym in his garage to continue his rehab. And he's leaned on the love of his family to get through it all.
"I don't think I would have made the recovery I did without her," Elliott said of his wife, Laura. "I'm so proud, so thankful and I know what she's capable of and everything she went through. The sacrifice and experience and all the pain and depression. She just muscled through it. It was very impressive to watch."
"It was really hard," Laura said of managing her husband's care while also taking care of their two young sons. "It's a reality check to make sure you take advantage of every single moment and every single day."
Now, they'll have more moments to share. Laura is pregnant with their third child, a girl who is due on December 27th.
"One of the first things I thought of is that we were talking about having another kid (before Anthony was shot). And I didn't know if that was going to happen anymore..." Laura said. "So once we were getting back to normal life and everything was pretty good, I was like, 'Hey, we gotta do this,' because that's one of the first thoughts I had."
"It sets a contrast between what happened last Christmas and this Christmas," added Anthony. "It's funny and not funny. We might spend Christmas again in a hospital but for two totally different reasons!"
Elliott has also returned to work. He's serving as a Staff Sergeant for the SWAT team that he used to be on. Mostly he does administrative duties. But he says he's not ruling out a return to the field.
"if it was an appropriate step for my family, I would be there tomorrow," he says. "But it's not all about me anymore. I would love to be chasing things down and doing fun stuff. But I'm a dad to three kids now and a husband to a wife who gave everything for me. So now it's my turn to give back."
They're also thankful for the support he and his family received from both the San Diego Police Department and the community at large.
"I felt extremely supported," Laura says. "Almost to the point where I often thought about people that go through this kind of thing where they don't have a department behind them. And your heart breaks a little bit because you know how tough it is."
"It's really made me realize that there is a silent majority out there that supports first responders in law enforcement," Anthony says. "That wasn't something I was privy to prior to the injury."
