Mom believes Cooper Roberts, 8-year-old boy shot at Highland Park parade, is 'destined for great things'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The family of Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old boy who was shot and left paralyzed in the Highland Park July 4th parade massacre, hopes he will soon be transferred from the hospital to rehabilitation.
Cooper's mother, Keely Roberts, issued a video and written statement on Wednesday. She too was shot during the massacre, while Cooper's twin brother, Luke, was hit by shrapnel.
Roberts said the family with six children is closer than ever. However, she said: "It is heartbreaking, devastating, and unimaginable to find ourselves as shooting victims. We were shot. I can hardly say it. None of us—Cooper, Luke, me, our family, the other victims and their families, our community—will ever be the same."
Cooper was shot in the back and the bullet exited through his chest, Roberts said. The bullet "did significant damage throughout his body, including to his aorta, liver, esophagus, and spinal cord," Roberts wrote.
But progress continues.
"He has endured and survived multiple surgeries. He is paralyzed from the waist down. He is still in the hospital in the PICU, more than three weeks later," Roberts said. "It is our hope that with Cooper's continued progress and with the continued prayers and support he is receiving from everyone, he will soon be able to be transferred to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab."
Cooper's brother, Luke, suffered only minor physical injuries – but the emotional trauma has been devastating on its own, Roberts wrote.
"To hold a tourniquet on his mother's leg; to see his twin brother's lips go gray; to sit covered in our blood as Good Samaritans provided the on-the-spot first-aid that kept us both alive – it's too much for anyone, much less an eight-year-old child," Roberts said.
Roberts said she herself suffered bullet wounds to two parts of her leg, and has already had multiple surgical procedures on her foot. The injuries require ongoing orthopedic treatment, she said.
Roberts also addressed how she and the rest of the family are coping with what happened. She said she feels "incredibly sad" for her "athletic and fun-loving" son Cooper, and also for Luke given what he experienced and witnessed.
"But I want to be clear," Roberts said. "What our family has learned from this horrible event is not hate. Instead, we have learned to see the unbelievably generous, caring, good, and kind spirit that makes up the vast majority of our world. We have learned that good will always prevail over bad; love always wins."
Roberts thanked the people who rushed into help right after the bullets began flying, as well as the doctors, nurses, and anaesthesiology team at NorthShore Highland Park Hospital.
"They saved my son's life. Absolutely, no doubt about it. They fixed an unfixable wound; did what others said could not be done," Roberts said. "On a holiday, when many were not in, they stepped up and made the Impossible possible."
Roberts likewise thanked the team at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital, where Cooper was later transferred.
She added that she believes Cooper is "destined for great things." But what the future will look like for him remains unknown.
"He is not out of the woods, not by a longshot. We know he will need to have another heart surgery again down the road. Cooper has been asking me--will I walk again? Will I have to be in a wheelchair forever? Place that in your mother heart – it is truly unthinkable," Roberts said. "But I have been straight with him, because I have to be – we don't know what kind of mobility he will have."
Roberts concluded: "Please keep following along and praying for Cooper and for Luke. They are good, sweet boys who love everyone and want good for everyone they know. They believe in the best in people and in the world. Their lives are so much more and better than this terrible thing than was done to them. Their lives are not a tragedy, they are a triumph."
Dr. Roberts' husband, Jason, was at the parade but was not injured. Cooper's and Luke's four adult sisters – Payton, Ella, Grace, and Emily – did not attend the parade.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with expenses.
