8-year-old paralyzed in Highland Park parade shooting celebrates ‘milestone’ return to school
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One of the youngest victims injured in the fatal shooting in the Highland Park parade on July 4 is making great strides in recovery and finally returned to school this week.
Cooper Roberts, an eight-year-old boy who became paralyzed when a gunman fired into a crowd during an Independence Day parade in a suburb outside Chicago, returned to class after months of recovery.
The milestone is a big milestone for Cooper, his twin brother Luke and his parents.
“We were so nervous that we couldn’t sleep the night before his first day back. We cried in the parking lot as he pulled himself into the school, cried as we pulled out of the parking lot,” Cooper’s parents said.
Luke was also hospitalized after the shooting with shrapnel in his lower body. He was fired after doctors removed some of the debris, though they were unable to remove it all.
It’s been a long road to recovery for eight-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was injured in the shooting at the Highland Park Independence Day parade
Cooper’s spinal cord was severed and his vertebrae were fractured in the shooting
Cooper (left) and Luke (right) were both injured in the shooting, but Luke was fired shortly after. Doctors were able to remove most of the shrapnel that had entered his body
Cooper’s family said one of the most difficult aspects of his long hospital stay was being away from his twin brother, Luke, who was unable to visit often due to COVID-19.
Cooper celebrated his first day of third grade with a smile after his ‘remarkable’ recovery, having lost his ability to walk several months ago
The family released a statement Monday sharing the happy news that both boys have kicked off third grade, according to ABC 7 in Chicago.
For Cooper, the journey back to school was long and arduous.
The boy was hospitalized for weeks after the shooting, and Cooper’s family was unsure if he would ever return to school after the horrific shooting.
But on Monday, Cooper did what they thought was impossible. And his parents could see him going back to school.
‘We were just a mess! He loved every minute of it and his exact words were, “If I hadn’t been shot, paralyzed and in a wheelchair it would have been a perfect day at school, but it really was a great day! I loved it,” they said. Keely and Jason Roberts, Cooper’s parents.
For Luke and Cooper, having each other after the shooting was critical to their recovery
While Luke was able to return to school in a more conventional way, Cooper’s journey back involved months of hospitalization and rehabilitation
His family said he will slowly go back to school and make sure not to rush him in the process until he is ready.
The slow reintegration is also partly due to the ongoing care and therapy required.
According to an GoFundMe set up for Cooper’s recovery costs, the eight-year-old required — and still needs — extensive medical care for his string of injuries.
After being shot on July 4, Cooper was taken with his life to a special hospital in Chicago, underwent numerous surgeries, was placed on a ventilator and intubated several times, went without food for days before finally being put on a liquid diet. placed, and continues to cope with a “substantial, rigorous and ongoing” rehabilitation schedule.
Cooper suffers from a severe spinal cord injury that fractured his vertebrae.
In Cooper’s case, the spinal cord itself had been severed, resulting in a diagnosis of paralysis from the waist down.
Even with a serious diagnosis, Cooper has tried to make the most of his life, his parents say. The young boy has remained as active as possible in new ways
The battle has made every moment “remarkable” for his parents and family.
“It has been one of the most humbling and hopeful experiences of our lives to see our precious 8 year old, who has been so cruelly and violently snatched from him, changed his life needlessly and forever, counting so cheerfully and excitedly in the days leading up to his return to school,” Cooper’s parents said.
Despite the big step the child has made this week, his mother and father say he is still concerned about his paralysis and how his diagnosis will affect his life.
“These literally go through his mind and ours all day long, like an endless coil of worry,” Cooper’s parents said. “We are all learning to deal with these components of our new reality.”
Realities such as a life without the climbing frames, gym class and playing on the playground equipment.
Before his injury, Cooper was an active kid who loved playing in the climbing frame and running around with his friends on the playground
Doctors Believe Cooper’s Injury Will Prevent Him From Walking Again
“Cooper’s return to school is not without grief and pain… He sees the things he can’t,” his parents said.
Even with the sense of helplessness that his parents said they felt in recent months, everyone in their life is proud of how far they’ve come.
“He’s been so incredibly brave and genuinely so overjoyed to be going back to school,” Cooper’s parents said. “It was a huge hurdle, and we pray that his positive feelings can continue.”
The GoFundMe set up for Cooper has been a place for those interested in following the boy’s progress, as well as a place for those looking to help the family in need.
More than $2 million has been raised for Cooper’s recovery in the months since the shooting that left the boy paralyzed.
Cooper’s recovery included extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation both in and out of the hospital
The eight-year-old had his family by his side throughout the months-long recovery, which included surgery, rehabilitation and hospital stints
Cooper is still smiling and learning to adapt to life in a wheelchair, his family says
The money raised will go to “treatments, therapy and all equipment, appliances and modifications to their home,” according to the fund.
“Cooper has a long, long road ahead of him in rehab on his journey of recovery,” they said. “We believe that Cooper’s story has only just begun and that he can and will show the world that there is no greater power in the world than the power of love.”
The GoFundMe is just one of many set up for victims of the Highland Park parade shooting.
Seven people were killed and more than four dozen were injured when a gunman fired at the crowd attending the suburban parade.
The 21-year-old man charged with the shooting, Robert “Bobby” Crimo, pleaded not guilty in August to 117 counts, including 21 first-degree murders.
Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo is accused of killing seven people and injuring more than four dozen in the Highland Park Independence Day parade shooting
The multiple charges of first degree murder allege that Crimo had intent to kill, caused death or great bodily harm and took action with a high probability of causing death or great bodily harm to the seven people who died .
Crimo is believed to have used a rifle “similar to an AR-15” to fire more than 70 shots from a commercial building into a crowd attending the parade.
It is estimated that some 30,000 people were in attendance that day.
Investigators said after the shooting they believed Crimo may have dressed up as a woman to carry out the deadly attack on Independence Day.
The 21-year-old was in possession of several weapons, including two rifles. One of the guns he owned was found in his car after the shooting.