The Latest on Injured Montana Highway Patrol Trooper

A Montana Highway Patrol Trooper is communicating with friends and family, but has a long road ahead of him over the next several months as he regains the ability to walk.

Thanks to one of our radio listeners, Fawn in Northwest Montana, for sharing this latest update on injured MHP Trooper Lewis Johnson via Twitter. Michael Foth also has the details on the GoFundMe page to help raise money for the Johnson family.

From the Facebook link Fawn shared with us is the latest report on Trooper Johnson's status:

Miracles happened today! He was extubated at 2 pm. He was groggy but followed every order given and the tube was removed quickly with little discomfort. He was able to speak softly immediately. By 4 pm he was eating ice chips and sipping on water. 6pm the deputy who was on the pursuit incident with Lewis came to visit. Those two chatted for an hour and Lewis remembered every little detail of the event. He's in great spirits and gives a strong handshake to everyone who visits. Nothing much for sensation below his waistline, some tingles on the upper right leg. The trauma nurse said this battle is 50 percent mental and the only outcome is Lewis walking. We need to make sure we only focus on him walking and talking about the future like everything goes back to normal. She has him motivated, focused on being the best dad for Ryder and he's going to set a goal to work for. She also said it takes the body a year to fully recover and we will keep working hard for the next year!! Love you all - thank you for the prayers.

We caught up with Sgt. Jay Nelson, the Public Information Officer for the Montana Highway Patrol. He confirmed the details from the latest update and says the family has approved the release of information.

Sgt. Nelson: Quite the fight ahead. And I mean- I know his wife very well. She's a go getter. And if there's anybody that can motivate Trooper Johnson, his wife can. As well as the support of everybody across our nation, and together, we're going to make this happen and he is going to recover fully.

As the Western News reports, Trooper Lewis Johnson's wife is also an MHP trooper:

Lewis' wife Kate is also a state trooper working out of Eureka. Lewis, a native of Chester, Montana, graduated from the state Law Enforcement Academy in 2014 with Kate.

Here is the full audio of our chat with Sgt. Nelson on Tuesday morning:

Here is one of the earlier reports on Trooper Johnson via KPAX-TV: