The police

officer son of Peachtree City Councilwoman Annie McMenamin has made a

dramatic recovery after he was gravely injured during a shooting Sept.

19 in Opelika, Ala.

Lt. Terry McMenamin,

who was shot in the face with shotgun pellets, is now walking, talking,

eating regular food and is beginning to recognize family members again,

said his sister Susan Brown, who also lives in Peachtree City. His cranial

and facial fractures are all healing, but he still suffers from short-term

memory loss, she said.

"The doctors

are all saying he's a miracle," Brown said. "He gets frustrated

sometimes and we tell him, 'Terry, eight days ago the doctors told us

you weren't going to live.'"

McMenamin,

who is now in a regular room at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital,

has lost one eye and will have surgery to remove pellets from his other

eye, Brown said.

McMenamin also

faces a long-term rehabilitation for his brain injury, but he may be admitted

to the Shepherd Spinal Clinic in Atlanta so he can be close to family

here.

Hopes are that

McMenamin will be able to return home by Christmas, Brown said.

McMenamin was

shot while trying to defuse a domestic violence incident in Opelika, police

said. While talking to a woman outside the residence, a man opened fire

on McMenamin and another officer who was also injured.

McMenamin and

his wife, Michael, live in Opelika with their children Ashleigh, 13, Nick

11 and Patrick, 2. A fund has been established for the family at Charter

Bank in Opelika. Local residents wishing to help can mail checks to The

Opelika Police Department that are made out to "The McMenamin Family

Fund". The department's address is: P.O. Box 2485, Opelika, Ala.,

36803-2485.