Officer's Wife Talks About His Recovery

  The wife of a Fremont police officer who was shot and critically wounded trying to arrest a suspect in Oakland last week said Friday her "whole  life turned upside down" when she learned he had been shot.
     
Speaking with a trembling voice to reporters at Highland Hospital  in Oakland, where 39-year-old Officer Todd Young is still recovering from his  gunshot wounds, Nicole Young said doctors initially told her that her husband  "wouldn't make it off the operating table."
     
But, she said, Dr. Javid Sadjadi is a "miracle worker" because he  and other members of the trauma team at Highland Hospital were able to save  Young's life. Young remains heavily sedated and is still in serious but  stable condition.
     
"Todd actually called me" after he had been shot, Nicole Young  said, and he insisted that he not be put under anesthesia until after he'd  had a chance to talk to her.
     
"He told me that he was OK and had been hit in the leg," she said.
     
Young, however, actually suffered significant bladder and stomach  injuries, Sadjadi said. One of the two bullets that hit him entered through  his right groin and exited his lower back.
     
Sadjadi said Young "has a very good prognosis" but is "certainly  not out of the woods yet" because of the threat of infection and urinary  tract issues.
     
The doctor said Young has undergone four surgeries so far and will  have to undergo at least one more, possibly even three more.
     
Young will also have to participate in physical therapy once he  recovers, Sadjadi said.
     
He said Young hasn't been able to talk to anyone but "should be  able to communicate soon."
     
Young was shot at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 27 when he and fellow  Officer Eric Tang attempted to arrest a suspected gang members in East  Oakland.
     
The two officers were working in Oakland as part of the Southern  Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force and had a warrant for the arrest of  20-year-old Union City resident Andrew Barrientos.
     
Barrientos allegedly shot Young when they tried to arrest him at  2009 Auseon Ave., near Bancroft Avenue. He then allegedly carjacked a vehicle  and fled the area but was arrested on Saturday by San Diego police officers  near the California-Mexico border.
     
Nicole Young said she's been sleeping in her husband's room at  Highland Hospital.
     
"I talk to him every day when he wakes," she said, even though he  can't speak yet.
     
She said that once he's able to communicate, "I will tell him I  love him and want to bring him home to our kids."
     
The couple has an 8-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.
     
"They know that daddy was shot in the leg and he's sleeping so he  can get better and come home," Young said. "That's all they need to know."
     
She added, "We have a long life ahead of us. He's going to pull  through."
     
Fremont Police Chief Craig Steckler called community support for  Officer Young "extraordinary" and especially praised the numerous people who  have donated blood at blood banks throughout the Bay Area. Young has required  extensive blood transfusion due to his numerous surgeries.
     
American Red Cross spokeswoman Sara O'Brien said additional blood  drives to collect blood for Young and others in need will be held in the Bay  Area in the coming days, including on Labor Day.
     
She said potential donors can call 1-800-RED-CROSS  (1-800-733-2767) to find out the times and locations of the blood drives.
     
Barrientos is scheduled to be arraigned in Alameda County Superior  Court on Tuesday for attempted murder, carjacking and eight other felonies.
     
Police said that when Barrientos was arrested, he was in the  passenger seat of a car driven by 23-year-old Gustavo Silva.
     
Silva was arraigned today on charges of being an accessory to  attempted murder after the fact and transportation of marijuana.