SAN ANTONIO – After spending more than two months recovering at University Hospital, Officer Mike Huffman is heading back to home in the Houston area.
On April 26, off-duty Officers Mike Huffman and Larry Candelari, of the Pasadena Police Department, stopped to help accident victims off Interstate 10 in Kerrville.
They were both run down by a big rig.
Candelari died and Huffman suffered severe injuries.
Huffman's wife, daughter and friends were at his bedside Wednesday morning, waiting to see him released.
"(After) 68 days in a hospital bed, I'm ready to go," said Huffman.
"It's a great day," said his wife, Nancy Huffman.
"I just love him so much. We are just so (happy) that he's coming home," said his daughter, Taylor Huffman.
"I remember the entire wreck. I was rolling under the vehicles," said Huffman. "My legs were facing (out in opposite directions) because my pelvis was separated.
Huffman wound up losing his left leg.
Employees at University Hospital say his recovery has been impressive and -- as has been his attitude.
"You can sit here and be depressed and worry about things or just go, 'You know what, I accept it,' and you know, all our military personnel go thorough a lot worse things than me and they're going back and fighting for us, so the least I can do is go back and get back to work," said Huffman.
Officials at University Hospital presented Huffman with an award for being such an inspiration.
"I really, really appreciate it. It brought me to tears," said Huffman. "It's really something I'll cherish. It's going to go on my desk back at the office."
Huffman hopes to be back at the office soon.
He plans to get a prosthetic leg and continue his work on the SWAT team at the Pasadena Police Department, where he's worked for 28 years..
Huffman was treated to a police escort for the ambulance ride home as an honor for the man who says his mission will always be to protect and serve.
Even now, Huffman has no regrets about the incident that could have cost him his life.
"I would stop again today if it happened, that's just kind of my nature," he said.
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