Cooper Roberts: 8-year-old Highland Park victim with severed spinal cord may NEVER walk again
HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS: Cooper Roberts was one of the victims who was injured severely when gunman Robert “Bobby” Crimo III opened fire on the 4th of July celebration at Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven people dead and more than dozens wounded on Monday, July 4. Two of the Roberts family members, mother Keely Roberts and twin brother Luke, were also injured during the mass shooting.
Keely Roberts was shot in the leg and foot area and Luke was hit with shrapnel during the mass shooting, the family spokesperson, Anthony Loizzi, said during a press conference streamed by ABC 7 Chicago. Keely Roberts informed doctors that she needed to be discharged following her second surgery “or she’d walk out on her own because she needed to be with her son.” “Quite frankly she probably should not have been discharged but she insisted on it so she could be at her son’s side, Cooper, who is at a hospital in (Chicago) with her husband,” the family spokesperson, Loizzi, said.
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Roberts is sedated and on a ventilator, according to the family representative, and is in critical but stable condition. He was airlifted to a children's hospital in the Chicago area. The family, which lives in Highland Park, also includes four adult daughters. A fundraiser was also created by Roberts' family. "Keely Roberts and her 8-year-old son, Cooper, were greatly impacted by the tragic events of this past Monday", part of a GoFundMe post set up for the family said. It further mentioned that Roberts' spinal cord is severely injured and "the doctors have determined that he (Roberts) will be paralyzed from the waist down".
“After several surgeries, the little guy is fighting as hard as he can,” the GoFundMe post further read. “We are hopeful that he will be ok, but we know his medical bills will be significant as will the therapy that will follow. Please pray that Cooper will recover as best as possible.” The charitable efforts have raised $501,523 so far.
When asked if Cooper, who loves sports, was paralyzed, Loizzi said he wasn’t sure, “but I believe that is a possibility, I believe that’s their major concern, but I do not have confirmation for that.” Talking to family members, Loizzi said they have told him, “that it’s going to be a new normal for him going forward. “They’re not sure, due to the severed spinal cord, whether or not he’ll be able to walk again in the future,” he said.
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Keely Roberts is the superintendent of a local school district in the Chicago suburbs. Despite being released from the hospital on Wednesday, Loizzi believes she may require additional surgery. According to the family spokesperson, twin brother Luke was not shot, but was hit with shrapnel to the lower body. After being treated for his injuries, he was released.