It looks like former Arnold Police Officer Ryan O’Connor may be on the road to recovery again.
In a Tuesday (Feb. 8) Facebook post, the Arnold Police Officers Association reported that Ryan’s wife, Barbara O’Connor, said her husband was removed from an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine and doctors hoped to take him off a ventilator possibly as earlier as today (Feb. 10).
Ryan O’Connor, who was shot in the head by a burglary suspect in December 2017, and went through extensive rehab after that, has been back in the hospital since Jan. 16 fighting COVID-19 and double pneumonia, Barbara said.
In the Arnold Police Officers Association post, Barbara said her husband is still critically ill and has a secondary infection to overcome.
“We have a long path through the woods,” Barbara said in the post. “But hearing the doctors call him ‘the realest miracle’ they’ve ever seen – and twice over, no less, was incredibly heartwarming. Please keep the prayers coming!”
A rosary prayer for Ryan was held Jan. 23 at Assumption Church in south St. Louis County.
In addition, numerous organizations have posted on social media asking the public to pray for O’Connor and his family.
“We are so grateful to the community for the outpouring of love and support,” Barbara said.
She did not say if her husband had received a COVID-19 vaccination.
O’Connor was shot more than four years ago while transporting burglary suspect Chad Klahs, 29, to the Arnold Police Station after he was arrested. Authorities said that after Klahs shot O’Connor, Klahs shot himself and died. The shooting happened on the Arnold Police Department parking lot inside a police SUV O’Connor was driving, and after the shooting, the vehicle crashed into a fence and propane tank.
O’Connor was 44 at the time of the shooting.
After rehabilitation, O’Connor was able to speak, but he is restricted to a two-wheel, motorized chair.
The family received a smart home from the Gary Sinise Foundation to help meet his needs.
In December, Aidan Gansner, Ryan’s stepson, graduated from the Jefferson College Law Enforcement Academy. He joined the Arnold Police after graduating.
Ryan and Barbara O’Connor also have three other sons.
