Nearly a year after the Highland Park Parade shooting, an 8-year-old boy named Roberts, who was critically wounded, shared an update on his and his mother Cooper’s progress.
The Independence Day mass shooting, which was one of the state’s two most lethal mass shootings, resulted in the deaths of seven individuals and the injury of 46 others, including Keely Roberts and her son Cooper, who were among the victims.
Almost a year ago, that particular day took away something from Cooper and his twin brother Luke’s early years, along with the additional obstacles and difficulties that now shape Cooper’s daily life, as described by Roberts in a letter documenting the past year for her family.
The twins just celebrated their ninth birthday this week, a birthday celebration that felt and looked much different from previous years. It forever changed their lives in ways that mere days before, they could not have imagined.
Roberts expressed in her letter, “As we approach the commemoration of the 4th of July mass shooting, I increasingly experience immense sorrow for the things that have been stolen from my children.”
They were still living, a truth that had much more to do with the reality that Cooper and Luke recently finished third grade, an accomplishment that Roberts included.
Regardless of the boys completing another year of school, there have been a few tremendous moments in between where they have been happy.
Roberts exclaimed, “I felt like I was climbing a huge mountain, and in that moment, I was so happy to see him – I wanted to do something for Cooper very much. Even though we had to put up with Cooper, we still wanted him to be able to sit next to his friends Luke and Cooper for the end of the school year picture. It was an absolutely massive feeling celebrating the end of the school year, proudly smiling and laughing with their classmates, as they watched them come out of the front doors on the last day of school.”
This year, Luke and Cooper found themselves in different classrooms for the first time, adding an extra layer of significance to the experience.
In the letter I read, Roberts mentioned that the mass shooting had a significant impact on each student’s school year. This year, they didn’t start school together on the official first day, unlike in previous years. I couldn’t recall the first day of third grade for Luke and Cooper, even with their help.
Roberts couldn’t resist comparing Luke and Cooper’s recent birthday party to their birthday parties from the previous year.
Roberts said, “And they both survived the day they were born – we celebrated their lives this year. It is unthinkable and something so big to try to survive, and it comes with the emotional weight and hardships. We were determined to make this year’s birthday as celebratory and happy as possible, to provide a temporary reprieve from the hardships. We could never have imagined what was just around the corner. Last year, their birthday was filled with pure joy as they loved being boys, having fun, cheering for their favorite baseball team, and eating hotdogs at the ballpark.”
In the year since, much of the family’s focus has gone towards Cooper’s rehabilitation and figuring out permanent housing that is wheelchair-accessible.
Roberts also noted that in addition to physical therapy, Cooper has started playing wheelchair tennis and takes part in adaptive swim competitions.
The adaptation at home for Cooper has proven to be incredibly difficult.
Roberts expressed in her correspondence, ‘Regrettably, our familial abode is not easily reachable – numerous flights of steps, cramped corridors that are not wheelchair-friendly, and kitchen surfaces that are excessively elevated. Consequently, at a substantial cost, we are constructing a residence to enable Cooper to be present wherever the entire family is, rather than being confined to only a limited number of rooms on the ground level and subsequently being transported upstairs for rest.’
After the shooting, Cooper’s family was able to live in a borrowed ranch home that was more accessible for Cooper than their old-century two-story family home. They were able to transition to home and come for therapy day nearly three months after the shooting. She added that Cooper was able to come home once.
Throughout their entire lives, Cooper and his family require numerous additional provisions, rehabilitation therapy, continuous healthcare, inclusive housing, and transportation, and continue to encounter substantial obstacles.
In one sense, it seems like everything in our lives underwent a transformation on July 4th, 2022, whereas Roberts affirmed, “this remains and will always be accurate.” In a world that has proven to be brimming with astonishing circumstances and insufferable predicaments, our profound desire is for them to experience lives brimming with immense happiness and purpose, surrounded by individuals who genuinely adore them, our dedication to consistently strive to act in their best interests, our affection for the boys, and cognizant of all the aspects that will forever remain unaltered.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been initiated for the Roberts family’s adaptive home, with a target of $900,000. Currently, it has raised more than $102,000.
The contents of Keely Roberts’ complete letter can be found below:
We are now doing what we did last year at this time, comparing and contrasting how much our lives, their lives, and our lives have completely and utterly changed. This year’s comparisons are breaking my heart, reminding me of how different things are compared to what we experienced last year at this time.
As the anniversary of the July 4th shooting approaches, I have been feeling an increasingly overwhelming grief for what has been taken from my children.
It was an absolutely enormous feat for Cooper to climb Mount Everest. In that moment, he felt incredibly happy and still wanted to be able to see his friends, Luke and the rest of his schoolmates, at the end of the school year. Even though we had to put up a sign at the top of the school for him, Cooper could still sit next to his friends and celebrate the end of the school year with a proud smile and laughter. It was a year that honored both Cooper and Luke, as they were both alive and thriving in their third-grade class.
On the first day of the third grade, they did not start school together. It was the first official day of school for both of them, but it was not the same day they had always started school. Due to the impact of a mass shooting, their school had decided to start on different days each year. This was a difficult adjustment for them, as they had always relied on each other for support and to help with the transition. I tried to remember back to that time, but I couldn’t provide any assistance.
They survived the day and both of them were born on this year’s celebrated day. We were determined to make this birthday year as celebratory and happy as possible, to provide a temporary reprieve from the emotional weight and hardships that come with trying to survive something so unthinkable and big, yet feeling so little. We could have never imagined what was just around the corner. Last year, their birthday was filled with pure joy as they loved being at the ballpark, cheering on their favorite baseball team and enjoying hotdogs. Luke and Cooper, like many children impacted by childhood trauma and violence, have had their innocence stolen and their carefree and joyful childhood taken away, making moments like this birthday so special.
We are figuring out new ways to participate in the world, as we are astonished by Cooper’s hope and resilience amidst sadness. Cooper is attending physical therapy and should be going to practice sports. He can’t play or run like he used to, but he still likes to walk. He can’t wrestle with his brother or bounce on the couch. He can’t be on the soccer team. He has started participating in Adaptive Swim Meets and is learning wheelchair tennis.
Cooper’s requirements are prioritized above everything else. Our family’s existence became the focal point of his daily physical and occupational therapy, as well as his significant daily necessities. Even his sisters were able to spend nights in his room, which resulted in an emotional reunion among siblings. Whenever he was transferred to inpatient rehabilitation, one of us always stayed by his side. I have never experienced such an intense desperation before, constantly praying with an unwavering desperation. Jason and I resided in that Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for weeks, always beside Cooper’s bed. We prepared him for a medical evacuation flight to Comer Children’s Hospital, and it was nothing short of a miracle that the emergency room and surgical teams at Highland Park Hospital were able to save his life and transport Cooper to the hospital alive. Additionally, Jason and the first responders at the scene also performed a miraculous feat by getting Cooper to the hospital. Initially, we weren’t even certain if Cooper would survive. Furthermore, we have been completely uprooted physically for nearly a year now.
When Cooper was finally ready to come home after nearly three months in a wheelchair, we were fortunate enough to move into a borrowed ranch home that allowed for greater accessibility opportunities for him. Unfortunately, our family home, a two-story, nearly 100-year-old building, relegated Cooper to just a couple of rooms on the first floor, wherever a bed could be carried upstairs. The kitchen counters are too high and the narrow hallways and lots of stairs make our home inaccessible for a wheelchair.
We are immensely grateful for the many donations and acts of kindness that our family and Cooper have received, as they have helped us overcome significant hurdles throughout our lifetime. Although we have encountered many obstacles, we have been able to access more nights of rest, increased educational opportunities, and accommodations and homes that are accessible. Additionally, we have benefited from accessible transportation, physical therapy, ongoing medical care, and social-emotional support.
Deep our hope is to live lives filled with great joy and purpose, surrounded by those who truly love them. We always strive to do right by them, trying to show our commitment and love. On July 4th, 2022, every single thing feels like it has changed, in a sense.