When Cpl. Michael Duncan changed from a sniper on the Gwinnett County Police Department's SWAT team to a helicopter pilot at the agency, his wife Laura Duncan began to sleep easier at night.
“I really thought we were moving past the more dangerous part of his career,” she said in a Wednesday news conference about her husband, who joined the police force after four years in the Marines. “I thought it was safer.”
Michael Duncan was part of GCPD’s SWAT team for eight years, starting on the entry team and then becoming a sniper. He found a passion in flying the police helicopter, also part of the SWAT team.
After Michael Duncan was paralyzed in a helicopter crash on Sept. 1, the first things he asked his wife were: “When can I get back to being a cop? When can I get back to being a helicopter pilot?”
He’s recovering from a spinal cord injury at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta. Laura Duncan is optimistic about his recovery; since his spinal cord is injured but not severed, there is a possibility that he will regain some movement in his legs.
As a psychiatric consult liaison for Athens Regional Medical Center, Laura Duncan said her medical knowledge has been a “blessing and a curse” during her husband’s recovery, being familiar with all the possible outcomes.
While Michael Duncan is expected to be at the Shepherd Center for up to eight weeks, his family is working to retrofit their old farmhouse to accommodate a wheelchair. The home has narrow doorways and “stairs everywhere,” said Melissa Smith, Michael Duncan’s sister.
The family is raising money for the home renovations and Michael Duncan's medical bills through a GoFundMe page. The Gwinnett County Police Foundation is also holding a golf tournament to raise money for the Duncan family on Oct. 2.
