More than two weeks after being shot in the pinnacle in Washington, DC, National Guard Staff Sargent Andrew Wolfe, 24, is respiratory on his own and can stand with help, in line with MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
Those are “important milestones that reflect his strength and determination,” stated Dr. Jeffrey Mai, a neurosurgeon on the hospital.
Mai known as Wolfe’s progress extraordinary and stated in an announcement, “Based on these improvements, he is now ready to transition from acute care to inpatient rehabilitation as the next step in his recovery journey.”
While the guardsman remains to be in the early section of therapeutic, Mai stated, “his progress gives us every reason to feel hopeful about what lies ahead.”
Mai additionally shared new particulars about how Wolfe was handled instantly after he and fellow Guard member Sarah Beckstrom have been shot at shut vary close to the Farragut West Metro station in DC on the day earlier than Thanksgiving.
Wolfe was airlifted to the hospital in the essential minutes after the assault.
“Thanks to the immediate response of emergency personnel and the exceptional care provided by our trauma and neurosurgery teams, he received lifesaving treatment, including emergency surgery to control bleeding and relieve pressure on his brain,” Mai stated. Beckstrom, 20, died on Thanksgiving Day as a results of her wounds.
Wolfe’s mother and father, Melody and Jason Wolfe, praised the medical employees who took care of their son after the assault.
“We are so grateful to the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the staff, the doctors and nurses that have cared for Andy these first few weeks,” they stated in an announcement. “The care has been remarkable, and they have told us Andy’s progress is miraculous.”
Wolfe’s mother and father thanked “Andy’s military family, his hometown community, and the people across the nation” for his or her help “as he begins a long and tough rehabilitation.”
“We know he will continue to improve at a rapid pace and know your prayers are making the difference,” they added.
Wolfe, Beckstrom and different National Guard members have been performing “high visibility patrols” when a person approached them at about 2:15 p.m. on November 26, and began shooting at them, Jeffrey Carroll, Executive Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Washington Police, stated in November.
Carroll stated after “some back and forth,” fellow Guard members have been in a position to subdue him and take him into custody. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan nationwide who had beforehand labored with US army and intelligence items in Afghanistan, has pleaded not guilty to charges together with premeditated homicide and assault with intent to kill.
Jeanine Pirro, US Attorney for Washington, DC, has stated Rahmanullah “drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital.”