Ten months ago Marion County Deputy Lance Poirier’s doctor delivered the bad news: His shattered right leg would need to be amputated.
“I told him if he put it together, I’d walk again,” the lawman says. “He said he couldn’t guarantee it. I said that if it didn’t work, then he could amputate it.”
They were able to save his leg, which had been broken after being hit by a car at the end of a felony pursuit, but the road back remained long. The 42-year-old said the doctor told him he would never go back to work and would always walk with a limp. For three-and-a-half months he lay in bed or sat with his right foot propped up. After two months he was able to put weight on his left leg, which was also broken.
“From Day 1 I had intensive therapy because they didn’t want my muscles to lock up,” he said. “I just kept fighting because I was determined to get back to work.”
And last week it happened. On March 13 Poirier resumed patrols – and the career he is so passionate about.
“God is good,” the eight-year veteran of the department said, choking up. “There have been so many prayers in the community. The community was behind me 100 percent. We live in an outstanding community. I couldn’t wait to get back to work to give back to the community – to the people that have given so much to me.”
Sheriff Berkley Hall said they’re glad to have him back.
“He’s a very lucky man to be alive. We’re trying to ease him back into patrol and he’s doing well,” Hall said. “We hope to get him back into his regular rotation. For now, he’s working days. He’s my senior road man. He’s got a passion for law enforcement. We want to thank everyone in the community for their support. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.”
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Poirier said he remembers the whole pursuit from May 30, 2017. Alicia Holifield, 33, of Summit had allegedly taken a car from a Hattiesburg-area dealership and led police on a chase through several counties for about 30 miles when the pursuit ended on U.S. 98 in Foxworth. Hall said Holifield’s case is still making its way through the courts.
“We got the vehicle stopped. I was the second officer there. The last thing I remember is that I was trying to open the passenger door,” Poirier said.
Poirier was struck by another vehicle responding to the pursuit, which had stopped in the crest of a hill on the U.S. 98 bridge in Foxworth.
“Another deputy had come over the hill and did hear that we had him stopped with all of the sirens going, I didn’t hear it … that’s when it happened,” he said. “I bounced off his car into a Mississippi Highway Patrol car and onto the ground. I blacked out at that point … until I landed. I came to and thought, ‘I was just over there, why am I over here?’”
Poirier soon found himself surrounded by fellow law enforcement officers and first responders.
“I was laying on the ground and everyone was telling me, ‘Don’t move,’” Poirier said. “Everyone was talking about my leg. I thought, ‘Oh crap, what’s wrong with my leg? Is it still there?’ I was able to wiggle my toes and I could tell I still had my leg. The next thing I knew, I was in a helicopter and at Forrest General Hospital.”
Since that day, Poirier has had several major surgeries to repair a severely broken leg, torn meniscus and much more.
“On this one, they had to put a rod,” Poirier said pointing to his right leg. “It was broken in five places. They put a rod from my knee to my ankle. The tibia and fibula were both shattered. I also had a break on my other leg. I’ve got a rod, some plates and a lot of screws in my leg.”
Poirier’s coworkers at the MCSO were excited to see him back. Deputies often worked extra shifts to save Poirier’s spot, awaiting his return, part of what he calls an “overwhelming” response.
Lance Poirier said his wife, Carolyn, has been a rock in their troubled times. As soon as she found out he was going to be bedridden, she said she knew she had to be there and quit her job to care for him.
“I don’t think I even second-guessed it,” she said. “I knew he was going to need care. I knew I had to be by his side. It was a long journey. We stayed in the living room because his wheelchair wouldn’t fit down the hall. The bed was in the living room, and I slept on the couch beside him.”
Lance Poirier said the road has been long, but he was determined, even though doctors said only 1 percent of people with his injuries return to work.
“My doctor (Michael Cox) was awesome. He’s incredible. Hattiesburg Clinic and their staff were like another family. You can’t ask for any better. It felt like more than a doctor’s visit when I went there. You get knocked down, but you get brought back up. They say that God puts people in your path when you need them; it’s just amazing. God can help you overcome whatever it is.”
Since returning to duty, Lance Poirier said the response around the community has been amazing. Many people hug him and tell him they’re glad he’s back.
“No matter where I go in the county, it is an overwhelming feeling,” he said. “The guys at the department are tickled – they’re happy. Every call I’ve gone on people have told me that they are glad I’m back. It really makes you feel good. Even people that I’ve arrested and have gone to prison have come up to me and made sure I was all right. That says a lot.”
Poirier said that he knows he is a miracle.
“God answers prayers because I know that, statistically, I should be dead,” he said. “Obviously, God isn’t done with me yet. He’s got a reason for me to still be here. Hopefully, my story will help somebody. There is nothing too powerful for God to heal. There’s nothing you can pray for that He can’t answer.”
Pictured Above: Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy Lance Poirier is back on the streets less than a year after nearly losing his leg when he was struck by a car at the end of a high-speed pursuit on U.S. 98. | Photo by Mark Rogers
