BOERNE, Texas — Officer Michele Van Stavern received a hero's welcome Thursday as a part of the Boerne ISD's First Responders Appreciation Night.
On August 30, Van Stavern was directing traffic after a Friday night football game when a suspected drunk driver hit her.
Nearly two months later, she still cannot return to work.
"It was challenging," Van Stavern said, "seeing my coworker working and I'm not working with them."
Van Stavern has been in law enforcement for 11 years, and last year she started working as a school resource officer at Boerne Middle School North.
"It's for the kids," Van Stavern said. "People ask all the time, 'You're a mom, why do you want to be a police officer?' That is the answer in itself: I'm a mom, so I want to be there protecting our kids. That's our future."
On Thursday, she returned to the same stadium with her family for First Responders Appreciation Night, and was surprised to recieve a special honor before kickoff.
"All of our police officers and first responders, this is where they live," Van Stavern said. "This is the community that they work for and they want to do a good job for the people here, so we all like to know we're appreciated."
Van Stavern still does not know when she'll be able to return to work.The driver accused of hitting her, Andrew Harris, was arrested at the scene, and faces a charge of intoxication assault.