# Wounded New York Trooper Up and Walking



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*DENNIS YUSKO*
_Courtesy of the Albany Times Union_

[/B]Albany, N.Y.--[/B] Trooper Donald Baker Jr. is walking, eating and chatting with friends, family and doctors at a Pennsylvania hospital, State Police Superintendent Wayne E. Bennett confirmed Wednesday. 
Over the past few days, Baker's medical status has improved to where he can get out of bed and sit in a chair, and he went on his first short walk in the hospital on Tuesday, Bennett said. 
"He is anxious for a quick and full recovery," Bennett said. 
Baker continues to be monitored in the Intensive Care Unit of Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa., and remains in serious but stable condition. 
"There is day-to-day evaluation with the goal of upgrading his condition and releasing him from the ICU," Bennett said. 
The 38-year-old trooper from Clifton Park was shot and critically wounded on Aug. 31 in western New York while searching for an escaped fugitive. 
He spent several days in an induced coma while doctors performed multiple surgeries. 
Baker is undergoing rehabilitative physical therapy at the hospital, where he has been treated for more than a month, Sgt. Kern Swoboda, a State Police spokesman, said Wednesday. 
"He's had to relearn how to do many things again," Swoboda said. 
Police say Ralph "Bucky" Phillips ambushed Baker and Trooper Joseph Longobardo of Greenfield while they were in woods near Phillips' former girlfriend's house. Longobardo died on Sept. 3. 
Baker and his wife, Tracy, have thanked the hospital's staff for its continued care, Bennett said. They also thanked the communities of western New York, Erie, Pa., and people in the Capital Region for their support, and send best wishes to the Longobardo family. 
The Clifton Park community raised more than $11,000 for the Baker family at an event Sunday at Northern Lights. More donations are streaming in, co-organizer Laurie Barrett said.










AP Photo/New York State Police

Trooper Donald H. Baker Jr.

_Republished with permission of the Albany Times Union._


----------



## Mongo (Aug 10, 2006)

Thank God.

Excellent sign, Good luck with a speedy recovery brother.


----------

