http://www.newsok.com/article/3000318

Fred Lawson is determined to return to work as a detention officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


It’s been a year since the 40-year-old Oklahoma City man last donned his badge.

Lawson injured his spine Jan. 17, 2006, when he tried to capture one of 18 men suspected of being illegal immigrants as they fled from a pre-dawn traffic stop near Yukon on Interstate 40.

He has spent the past year on a grueling regimen of physical rehabilitation meant to get him in shape to work.

“I feel like I can do it,” Lawson said.

He said it seems the federal government isn’t as confident in his ability to return to duty.

Lawson’s doctor cleared him to return to light duty about a month ago, he said, but agency officials in Dallas would not allow it.

Now, Lawson has three months to prove he is healthy enough to get back to work full-time, a deadline he is determined to meet.

“This is my livelihood,” he said. “I just can’t see myself on part disability or working some light job somewhere.”

An agency spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Lawson said he is thinking about ramping up his therapy to five hours a day or more with his deadline in mind.

He now spends about three hours a day with physical therapist David Creel at Orthopedic and Spine Rehabilitation Inc. They work on building Lawson’s strength, balance and stamina.

Aiming for 90 percent

Lawson estimates he is at about 75 percent of what he was before he was injured. He hopes to get back to 90 percent or better in the next three months.

On the day he was hurt, Lawson tackled one of the men as he tried to climb a fence south of the highway, leading with his head. The impact caused his body to go numb.

“When I hit him is when I lost all feeling and passed out,” he said. “The doc figures my head just went straight back to my spine.”

No bones were broken, but doctors inserted a metal rod, two plates and 10 screws to stabilize Lawson’s spine. Surgery fused four vertebrae.

Lawson said he has made great strides since he was released from Valir Rehabilitation Hospital in March, when he needed a cane to walk.

Now, he doesn’t need the cane and can even run a little on flat surfaces. Lawson said he is moving better each week because of his rehab efforts.

“It’s slow, but I’m surely improving on about everything.”