PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. — A Pickens County deputy who had been fighting for her life after being hospitalized for a routine procedure is finally being released from the hospital.
On Monday, the Pickens County Sheriff's Office shared the Deputy Cassie Defoor was being moved from Kennestone Hospital to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for the next phase in her recovery - rehabilitation.
The sheriff's office shared a video of officers escorting her to the Atlanta campus, where "Cassie received a hero’s welcome by the amazing staff," the sheriff's office described.
Defoor was hospitalized last month after a routine medical procedure. She was was having her pacemaker adjusted when her aorta formed a tear and caused massive bleeding.
Defoor was forced to undergo emergency surgery, but the procedure left her in a medically-induced coma. She had been recovering at the hospital since then.
The 30-year-old deputy has had a pacemaker since she was 20 years old. It's helped to keep her going strong, in spite of a congenital heart defect.
The sheriff's office is asking the public to continue to pull for the deputy, in light of the good news.
"We look forward to keeping our community updated on Cassie’s progress, and ask that you all continue to lift up Cassie, her family and co-worker’s in your prayers," the sheriff's office asked.
A GoFundMe page was established by the Sheriff's Auxiliary Unit of the Pickens County Sheriff's Office, which helps to provide assistance as well as moral support for law enforcement officers and their families. The Sheriff's Auxiliary is a 501c3 non-profit organization.