By Suzie Ziegler
ST. LOUIS — Officer Colin Ledbetter, 26, was not expected to survive. The St. Louis cop nearly bled to death after a January shooting severed his femoral artery. One doctor called his recovery “miraculous.”
Dr. Douglas Schuerer says Ledbetter received 39 units of blood at the hospital, or about three times what a human body typically holds, KMOV reported.
“He basically bled his volume out. He was not alive when he came to us,” Schuerer told KMOV.
Now, Ledbetter is using his second chance at life to encourage others to donate blood. On Monday, Ledbetter threw the first pitch at a Cardinal’s game to kick off the team’s 19th Annual Red Cross Blood Drive, according to KMOV.
Ledbetter says donated blood saved his life, and he wants to pay it forward.
“It saved mine, it can save others,” Ledbetter told KMOV.
NEXT: Are you taking care of your wounded officers?