DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA — It’s just office duty for now, but a Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy says he’s thrilled to get back to work Monday after undergoing months of treatment for a rare form of blood cancer.

Deputy Mitchell McPherson’s progress has amazed his doctors and his colleagues at the sheriff’s office.

“I asked to go back to work light duty, and they were like, ‘are you really up to it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready. I’d go back full duty if you guys would let me’, but they’re not going to let me because it’s just been two months since I’ve had this transplant,” McPherson said.

A stem cell transplant was part of weeks of extensive inpatient treatment he received at Emory University Hospital and during that time, he was away from his family.

McPherson says he learned many lessons from this experience, and most importantly, to not take life for granted.

He knows it’ll be a few more months before he’s back to his old duties, but he says for now, he’s grateful just to be back at work.