KNOXVILLE, TN. (story courtesy of WVLT) – Deputy Dalton Swanger with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office is awake and off the ventilator, according to an update from KCSO.

“He can speak and is doing well,” a KCSO spokesperson said in a Facebook post on Saturday. “He faces a long road to recovery.”

Swanger was critically injured during a call on Stanley Road on June 22. The sheriff’s office said a suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Christpher Michael Hensley, hit him with a rock, hospitalizing him at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

“We are truly grateful for every prayer spoken on his behalf, the generous donations that will allow him to concentrate on healing, and the overwhelming love and well wishes from across the nation,” said a KCSO spokesperson in the update posted to Facebook. “Your support makes a difference in Deputy Swanger’s journey, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Swanger is in the hospital’s ICU unit. An update from Monday said he was able to move all of his limbs.

Hensley is facing several charges connected to Swanger’s injuries, including attempted second-degree murder.