Nearly a year after the shooting that changed their lives, Deputies Ryan Rathbun and Jay Thompson are grateful to be back on the street. "The support was overwhelming, highly motivating and therapeutic," said Rathbun. "To know there's that much love and support made it much easier to want to come back." "The support is still coming in. Yesterday, I got a card from Ohio. Last week I got one from Florida and from Tennessee," added Thompson. Rathbun and Thompson were both shot in the face with birdshot last February during a call about a drunken man firing recklessly on his property in rural Whatcom County. Court documents state the alleged gunman shouted, "I don't care if you are cops, I'm going to blow your head off." Despite rising violence against law enforcement, and reform laws that police say handcuff their ability to fight crime, the two deputies decided to go back on patrol, but not before facing some difficult questions. "The question that kept coming up from my friends and family was whether I really wanted to go back and if I did, why would I do that," said Thompson, a 27-year law enforcement veteran. "I had to ask myself if I was gonna decide to let that trauma dictate how I think, how I live, how I view myself," added Rathbun. Deputy Rathbun nearly lost his left eye and still only has partial vision after enduring six surgeries. Thompson suffered a traumatic brain injury and is undergoing therapy for PTSD. But they say the darkest time came last March 15 -- barely a month into their recoveries. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/whatcom-county-deputies-back-on-patrol-after-shot-in-face/281-2c6e7389-8093-49fa-9535-84b42bb2a314