Seven people were killed and dozens injured when a gunman opened fire on the crowd during the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. Cooper’s injuries included a partially collapsed lung and a severed spinal cord. Cooper’s family has provided regular updates on his condition. The 8-year-old was paralyzed by his gunshot wound and at times during his recovery journey felt “desperate, sad and angry” at his new reality, his family previously said. That reality is one that will involve a steep learning curve for Cooper and his entire family, his parents said, as they try to navigate a new lifestyle with new challenges and adjustments, including their home, which will now have to to accommodate the wheelchair and “many other needs”. “It’s another thing that keeps us up at night — how are we going to find, renovate or build a workable home for our family again? Right now, Cooper can only access certain parts of the house — this is not right for him or our family,” their statement said. And now that Cooper is back home, there are frequent reminders of life before filming. “Cooper has to deal on a daily basis with the sadness and grief of recognizing all the things he’s lost — all the things he could do in his home, in his community, that he can no longer do… playgrounds he can’t to play, sports he can’t physically play like he used to, a yard he can’t play the same way he used to, a bike in the garage sitting idle, that we had to fight him to stop riding every day,’ they said His parents. “For all the love he’s returned to, there are so many painful reminders of what he’s lost. There are no words we know that adequately describe the level of pain you feel or that Cooper feels when he sees his bike no longer to drive or his old football jersey…heartbreaking, agonizing, despair — there’s just no description painful enough,” they added. But Cooper is determined to find new ways to play sports, his parents said. “Cooper has decided to take up wheelchair tennis. He’s already been on the tennis courts a few times,” they said. “We have no doubt that Cooper will be terrific at tennis…and whatever other sport he decides to play. It’s just going to be different.” Cooper also gets to once again live — and play — with his twin brother, Luke, who was one of the first people he asked us to see after he briefly woke up from his first surgeries. The two will now “continue to be each other’s best teammates,” Cooper’s parents said. “Since the beginning, Cooper has inspired us. He is brave and kind. He is tough as nails but incredibly loving. He cares more about the well-being of others than his own. He loves the world … and it is because of love and prayers that you all have sent him and continue to send him that we believe he continues on a path of healing,” their parents said. A verified GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support the family. CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to the report.
