Carson City Sheriff's Lt. Wade Penegor will be moved from the intensive care unit at Washoe Medical Center to a rehabilitation center at St. Mary's Hospital, his wife said Tuesday.
Penegor, 42, was injured Jan. 15 when he smacked his head on the roadway in an off-duty accident on his all-terrain vehicle in Washoe Valley.
He underwent emergency surgery to ease swelling of the brain and was in a drug- induced coma for two weeks.
A 13-year member of the Sheriff's Department, Penegor was named the department's 2004 Supervisor of the Year.
He oversaw the operation of the city's 229-bed detention center with a staff of 33. In his absence, Sgt. Bob Gauchy has been put in the acting lieutenant position, Sheriff Kenny Furlong said.
Luanne Penegor said her husband is not able to speak because of a tracheotomy tube in his throat, but he appears to recognize friends and family and is able to respond to requests for movement. He has also attempted to talk, despite the obstruction.
"He was sitting in a chair for five and a half hours today, and he took a couple of steps," she said.
Doctors are not sure what the veteran officer's prognosis is.
While at St.t Mary's, Penegor will undergo surgery to replace a portion of skull removed to release pressure on his injured brain. Once the surgery is finished, the tracheotomy tube will be removed, Luanne said.
He will also undergo intensive physical therapy.
n Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.
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