Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting victim Cooper Roberts, 8, is making “up and down” progress after suffering organ damage and a severed spinal cord that left him paralyzed from the waist down, his family said Friday.
Cooper is in critical condition in pediatric intensive care at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital, where he has had multiple surgeries.
Doctors are now determining how to treat a swollen lump filled with fluid in the boy’s pelvis. The infection is believed to be responsible for a spiking fever, according to the family.
Cooper’s condition briefly had improved to serious on Thursday but worsened on Friday, and he was again described as being in critical condition, the family said in a written statement.
Friday marked his 19th day in the hospital.
Cooper was among dozens shot in the mass shooting at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade.
Seven people have died.
His mother, Keely, and twin brother, Luke, also were treated for injuries from the shooting.
Robert E. Crimo III, 21, accused of firing a semi-automatic rifle from a rooftop onto parade-goers below, faces murder charges in the shootings.
Cooper’s family said his torn esophagus continues to heal from his surgeries.
They said he was able to have his first liquid since the shooting — an orange popsicle — and, on Thursday, he was able, in his wheelchair, to go outside for the first time.
And he was thrilled to hear from the Milwaukee Brewers, his favorite baseball team, who sent him a package that included a jersey with his name on it.
“That really lifted his spirits,” the Roberts family said.
A GoFundMe set up to help pay Cooper’s medical bills has raised more than $1.6 million through almost 25,000 donations as of Friday.
Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
