By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
“I have some good news,” Decatur Police Chief Kevin Gerber told city council at its Tuesday meeting. “Teddy Besessen returned to the road (July 13) and he’s doing really, really good.”
Besessen has been off duty for approximately six months after being hit with a medical emergency.
On February 10, the officer began suffering abdominal pain and required emergency surgery for gallstones.
He was in and out of the hospital for several months with acute pancreatitis.
In a Facebook post on May 9, the department said: “Thankfully, a recent change in Teddy’s treatment is showing improvement and promising results. However, Teddy still has a long road to a full recovery.”
The department began accepting donations for the Besessen family.
In a May 30 post, the PD said: “The generosity of our community is always a beautiful thing to witness. Between the anonymous donations, the car wash, and the bake sale there was over $5,000 raised to assist the Bessesen family. At this time Teddy’s treatment and recovery are looking very optimistic.”
Now, the Decatur native is back to full-time duty.
In the following Facebook post, Besessen said: “I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for the donations made throughout the month to assist my family and I during this trying time. I would also like to say thank you for the thoughts and prayers throughout my entire ordeal.
“It is always heartwarming to see the love, compassion, and willingness to help others that our community has shown time and time again. It has been very humbling and appreciated to be on the receiving end of that love, compassion, and willingness to help.
“I would like to inform everyone that the donations that were made have greatly helped my family.”
Teddy and his wife, Mary, are the parents of three daughters.
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