Cooper Roberts.Photo: Courtesy of the Roberts Family
Cooper Roberts, 8, was told Saturday night that he is paralyzed from the waist down.
“It’s been a tough weekend,” a family friend and spokesperson, Tony Loizzi, tells PEOPLE.
The rising fourth grader was with his parents and twin brother at the Highland Park July 4th parade when agunman opened fire, killing seven people and injuring dozens.
Cooper remains in serious condition atComer Children’s Hospitalin Downtown Chicago.
“You just don’t know the depth of how horrible this is for Cooper,” his mother, Keely Roberts, said in a statement Loizzi shared with PEOPLE. “He is so badly hurt physically and emotionally. Beyond horrible.”
Since Monday, Cooper has had six surgeries and is scheduled for another procedure to repair his damaged esophagus on Monday.
“The pain is just unbearable. So although he has been in and out of consciousness, they do find the need to continuously sedate him just because of how much pain he’s got,” Loizzi, 47, tells PEOPLE. “That’s been the struggle this weekend. When I talked to his mom yesterday, she said it’s just been heartbreaking, that he wakes up, doesn’t completely understand still what’s going on and what happened, wants to go home and sheds a lot of tears from the pain. And then they have to basically put him back down so that he can rest.”
Courtesy of the Roberts Family
Loizzi also tells PEOPLE that Keely texted him and said, “It’s just heartbreaking, because when he is awake, he’s crying and wants to go home. ‘Can I go home?'”
“And they just have to explain to him that they can’t do that right now,” Loizzi continued.
The family released an updated statement from doctors at Highland Park Hospital, which says that “the bullet entered Cooper’s upper abdomen, injuring the left lobe of his liver, his esophagus near the stomach, his abdominal aorta and exited through his back injuring his spinal cord.”
Agofundmecreated five days ago has already raised more than $1.2 million to help pay for medical bills, treatment, therapy and adaptive devices Cooper will need.
“The phone calls and emails and overwhelming level of support and concern for the family, it’s just been unbelievable,” Loizzi says. “They’ve told me several times to please send out their sincere thanks.”
Cooper arrived early to the Highland Park parade with Luke, his mother and father, Jason Roberts. The family was standing in front of Walker Bros. pancake house on the main parade route when the shooting began.
“After she was shot and Cooper was shot, she at least had the wherewithal that she basically laid on top of the two boys, trying to cover while the father was trying to help all of them. And then a gentleman from Texas came up and saw what was going on and saw that Cooper was pretty much blue. So started giving him CPR until the medics could get there,” Loizzi says.
“These guys are together nonstop. So there is a toll being taken on Luke too, who is just missing his brother like crazy,” Loizzi says.
Their mother Keely,a superintendent of the Zion Elementary School District, was being treated at a separate hospital from her son.
“Once she found out the extent of Cooper’s injuries, she demanded to be released,” says Loizzi, a partner at a law firm that represents 150 school districts in the State of Illinois, including the one that employs Keely.
“Cooper is the funniest little boy you’ll ever meet. He’s silly and creative and above all else, he loves everyone unconditionally and genuinely,” Cooper’s oldest sister, Peyton, wrote in a statement.
The boy loves soccer, riding his bike and playing baseball. He loves reading and the family’s dog, George. He’s a Packers and a Brewers fan, according to his sister.
“Him and Luke are more than twins, they’re best friends, partners in crime. Cooper has never met a stranger a day in his life. Everyone he meets is his instant best friend,” his sister wrote. “There’s nothing this kid can’t do and no words for the amount of goodness within.”
The family has been told that he will never walk again.
“Keely’s not conceding that,” Loizzi says. “She’s going to explore every avenue. She’s not going to concede he’s never going to walk again. They’ve told her he’s paralyzed from the waist down, but she continues to read up. She’s not arguing with them, but in her mind, she’s not going to concede that he’ll never walk again.”
She still has hope.
“Keep praying for him,” Loizzi says. “Any support would be appreciated.”
source: people.com
