Cooper Roberts back home with family after being shot at Highland Park July 4 parade
CHICAGO (CBS) – Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old boy who was shot at the July 4 parade in Highland Park, is back home after numerous surgeries and weeks of rehabilitation.
Roberts' parents Jason and Keely made the announcement on Thursday saying they were filled with "gratitude, love and wholeness" that Cooper was able to return home to his twin brother, four sisters and French Bulldog, George.
"There was a time, not all that long ago, where we were desperately and feverishly praying just for Cooper to live," the family said. "To be able to have Cooper home and our family all reunited together again is such an amazing blessing."
Seven people were also killed during the shooting. Roberts was one of the dozens of people wounded.
The family said Roberts had life-saving surgery on July 4 at Highland Park Hospital. He also stayed at Comer Children's Hospital and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. He needed to be fully intubated and be put on a ventilator just to breathe multiple times.
Roberts also had "numerous" follow-up surgeries. He went days without eating, then had to be on a liquid diet before being able to eat again. He's also still going through "rigorous" daily rehabilitation to address his broken vertebrae, severe spinal cord injury, and paralysis as a result of the gunshot wound.
The family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for Cooper's medical expenses. So far, it has raised over $2 million.
