The little things seem much bigger than they did two months ago for Kathleen "Katy" Conway.
She thinks about whether she'll be able to squeeze her wheelchair through an aisle. She wonders who will help her to the bathroom. She daydreams about being able to walk without help again.
The 23-year-old Cincinnati police officer's life changed Feb. 2 with four gunshots.
A man with a .357 Magnum ambushed her cruiser on Central Parkway in Over-the-Rhineand opened fire. She instinctively grabbed for her own gun, holstered on her hip -- a hip shattered by a gunshot. With two shots back to the head, her attacker, Daniel T. Williams, was dead.
In police training terms, Officer Conway "won" the encounter. Now she is on her way to winning back her life.
"When something like this happens, it's amazing what you take for granted," she said Monday in her first public appearance since the shooting.
Spc. Herb Hood, a police academy trainer and friend, wheeled her into a room of flashing cameras at police headquarters. She smiled, blushed and quietly thanked everyone for their love and support.
Her next big event will be today's Reds Opening Day parade, and Officer Conway is adjusting to the spotlight.
The cards she receives from strangers still brighten her days. "You definitely try to fit more into a day," she said.
For now, her days are spent mostly with nurses and therapists and rest as she recovers at her parents' home in Anderson Township. She declined to answer questions about the shooting itself, but said she is handling things well. She hasn't decided whether to go back to police work. She says she might enjoy training recruits because she says training saved her.
Chief Michael Snowden also credits her confidence: "You can see a lot of it's her mental attitude and prayers."
Officer Conway faces months of rehabilitation.
"Being able to get in and out of bed might not seem like a big deal," she said.
But for her, the everyday things are what life is all about.
