PORTLAND, Ore. --
A Lincoln City police officer shot at least two times is expected by his trauma surgeon to make a full recovery, despite massive bleeding on the night of the shooting.
Doctors and police say a well-coordinated plan to rush Officer Steven Dodds from the shooting scene on the Oregon Coast to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland saved his life Sunday night.
"If he had not been flown, he would not have survived. Everybody worked perfectly to save this guy's life," said Dr. Seth Izenberg, the trauma surgeon who performed the operation on Dodds. "I was just the guy with the knife."
After recovering, Dodds' brain function "will probably be better than mine," Izenberg says.
Izenberg added Dodds was shot twice, including once in the pelvis that clipped a major artery to his leg. Their biggest concern was to stop the bleeding as Dodds had already lost 10 quarts of blood in the two hours it took to get him to the hospital.
"He has made significant improvements … we do not anticipate limb loss," Izenberg said.
Megan Dodds, the wounded officer's daughter, says her father was more responsive this morning.
"If I ask him to squeeze (my hand), it will take a second, but he'll be able to squeeze," Megan Dodds said.
A college freshman who lives in Corvallis, Megan Dodds says she has been by her father's side since being woken up by a phone call at 1 a.m. Monday.
"I talk to him," she said. "I like to think he can hear me."
She describes her father as "a healthy guy" who is into nutrition. Doctors say Dodds' healthy lifestyle helped in his survival.
So far, Dodds has undergone two surgeries and he will likely need another in the final stages of his recovery.
David Durham, who is accused of shooting Steven Dodds, remains the subject of a manhunt near Waldport. His dog was found alive, but injured, yesterday.
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