BOSTON (WHDH) - An Everett teen is home from the hospital three months after he was shot while on a family vacation in Canada.
Fourteen-year-old Sandrick Jorcelin left Spaulding Rehab for his home in Tewksbury with his dad and extended family.
“Look at him now,” said Sandrick’s father Ricardo Jorcelin. “He wasn’t able to eat, he wasn’t able to do anything, and now with the amount of work by the whole team at Spaulding MGH put in, he is about to do a lot of things, and eventually he will walk again.”
Sandrick was visiting family outside Montreal on May 7 when his family says a birthday party turned into a tragic nightmare. The 8th grader was in the backseat of a car leaving that party when another car pulled up and opened fire.
Everyone in the car suffered gunshot wounds, and Sandrick’s uncle was killed in the attack. Sandrick was shot in the stomach, and the bullet became lodged near his spine.
After hospital stays in Montreal, at Boston’s Mass General and rehab at Spaulding, Sandrick is now well enough to continue his work at home.
While at Spaulding Rehab Hospital, Sandrick made friends with staff and patients.
“He was an excellent patient. He was a very hard worker. He would always tell us exactly how he’s feeling, which is always a positive,” said Spaulding Rehab Hospital Physical Therapist Francesca Alfonso.
One of Sandrick’s friends from Spaulding, Brian McNally of Arlington, was paralyzed in a fall. McNally said he sees Sandrick’s hard work as an inspiration.
“It’s just provided me with that hope and that focus, an inspiration that I too am going to walk, and we are going to walk together,” said McNally.
Sandrick said that while rehab has been tough, there have been moments of joy, like when the Celtics delivered an autographed ball to him during the playoffs.
When exiting the hospital, Sandrick got a warm welcome from his family, all sporting “Team Sandrick” shirts and a State Police escort to his dad’s home.
Sandrick said he wants to teach others to never give up.
“I wasn’t able to get out of my bed, I wasn’t able to get in the chair, now I am almost walking,” said Sandrick. “Anything you want to do, you can do it in life.”
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