Knox County, TN (WOKI / Facebook) – Knox County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Dalton Swanger, who was injured in the line of duty, is scheduled for a complex tracheal resection surgery to keep his airway open.

His girlfriend Stephania posted on Facebook they are appreciative for all the prayers.

He has had five surgeries for his condition caused after he was hit in the head by a rock while answering a call and it’s possible he may need two more before the main surgery scheduled in December to help keep his airway open.

She asked for continued prayers.  Her Facebook post is below: (courtesy of Stephania Pumphrey’s Facebook post)

Hey everyone

Just wanted to give a quick update on Dalton. Thanks to all of you, his tracheal resection surgery is scheduled!!!!!!! Your prayers, messages, contacts, people you reached out to, donations, every single thing you did for us has been felt. We are filled with gratitude forever for all of you, from the people we’ve seen in waiting rooms and restaurants to comments and messages on social media. Our lives are changed because of all of you.

His resection surgery is not for a bit, so we have multiple dilation surgeries until then to keep his airway open and he will not be able to return to work until late winter/early spring. On his last surgery a few days ago, his trachea was only 2 mm wide. To put that in perspective, 2 mm is about the width of a nickel if you turn it sideways, the width of a grain of rice, or two credit cards stacked together. When he was hit, his skull depressed 8 mm towards his brain. His skull broke four times more than what he is breathing through right now. This was his fifth surgery since late August, he will need a sixth and maybe a seventh to buy time until the resection. He is being incredibly strong through this torture and I am so damn proud of him.

We’ll be pretty quiet while we try to keep him safe and breathing. Please know that we still pray for all of you and I’m still trying to get back to everyone – the fact that it will take me multiple months to respond to all of your messages before even getting to the letters is absolutely insane. Your kindness has been overwhelming and I can’t thank you all enough for that. Until we check in again, we’re holding on to 2026 and the promise of healing, peace, and so much gratitude for what we have been blessed with

*As always, any updates outside of the show will ONLY come from the KCSO PIO Kimberly Glenn, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, or myself on behalf of Dalton. Those are the ONLY resources for information about him – those three Facebook pages. If anyone sees any fundraising efforts outside of Blue Line Tennessee Inc., you can contact KCSO PIO Kimberly for verification! Thank you all again

 

ORIGINAL STORY:  Knox County, TN (WOKI) – Knox County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Dalton Swanger has faced complications after being injured in the line of duty and will likely need a complicated surgery.

His girlfriend, Stephania Pumphrey said on Facebook Saturday that Swanger’s health had taken a turn after being on a ventilator and in a coma for such a long time. She said he has tracheal stenosis, which is when someone’s trachea narrows, causing breathing complications. That realization came over the summer, she said, after he had originally been released back home.

“When we realized something was really wrong and rushed to the ER in late August, it was only 8 mm wide,” Pumphrey said. “He has had three unsuccessful surgeries since then that are meant to dilate his airway, and it has continued to close at an accelerated rate.”

What comes next, she added, is a complicated surgery called a tracheal resection. It involves taking a portion of his trachea out, she said, and is something only a few specialized teams across the country can do.

“Dalton is asking for your continued prayers as we search for a hospital capable of performing this surgery,” Pumphrey said. “We’ve been reaching out to these hospitals, but so far, haven’t been able to get scheduled – and he urgently needs this surgery to save his life. We got some very hopeful news from a dear friend today, but your prayers for doors to open, for the right team to be found, and for a clear path forward mean more to us than words can say.”

Swanger was injured during the filming of an episode of “On Patrol Live,” a reality show that follows officers in the field.