CHICAGO — It’s been almost 20 days since 8-year-old Cooper Roberts was hospitalized after being critically wounded at the Independence Day parade shooting in Highland Park. The bullet caused injuries that left the boy paralyzed from the waist down and despite some progress, he remains in critical condition, according to a statement from the family.
Following Cooper’s seventh surgery, an urgent operation to close a tear that reopened on his esophagus, the boy’s health suddenly took a downturn more than a week ago. Since then, his recovery has been “up and down.”
Though he remains in the pediatric intensive care unit, Cooper went outside in a wheelchair on Thursday — his first time outdoors since the Independence Day parade that changed his life. His spirits were lifted after receiving a care package from the Milwaukee Brewers, his favorite baseball team, that included a jersey with his name on it.
