Kids & Family
Chicago Bears Surprise Shooting Survivor With Specialized Wheelchair
The Bears and the nonprofit Devices 4 the Disabled teamed up to give Cooper Roberts a wheelchair specifically made for sand.
By Sam Borcia Lake & McHenry County Scanner
The Chicago Bears surprised Cooper Roberts, the boy paralyzed in the Highland Park parade shooting, with a new wheelchair that will allow him to visit the beach without getting stuck.
The Bears and “Devices 4 the Disabled,” a non-profit organization, partnered to present Cooper with a wheelchair specifically made for the sand.
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Cooper visited Halas Hall in Lake Forest on Wednesday with his family, who were presented with the surprise gift after team practice.
Cooper met Bears general manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and dozens of players.
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Keely Roberts, Cooper’s mother, said she is a “really hard person to surprise” and did not see it coming.
“It was such an unbelievably not just generous but really thoughtful gesture, and I think that’s probably why it was so emotional for us. It wasn’t just about them giving Cooper and our family this huge gift, it was about a gift so meaningful and so thoughtful for Cooper,” she said.
Keely said her son loves to swim and be at the beach.
“Getting to the beach, getting down into the sand, it’s impossible to do in his regular wheelchair. It’s absolutely impossible. It’s one of those things that as a family we never would have been able to really help Cooper with without the use of a beach wheelchair,” the boy’s mother said.
Cooper also competes for an adaptive swim team at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, a rehabilitation facility.
Cooper, who was eight years old at the time, suffered a gunshot wound that left his spinal cord severed in the July 4 shooting in Highland Park.
Seven people were killed and dozens of others were shot. Over 80 rounds were fired by the gunman into the parade crowd.
Cooper’s injuries led to him being permanently paralyzed and requiring the use of a wheelchair.
The boy was discharged from the hospital in late July and transferred to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
He participated in physical and occupational therapy to help him regain mobility and strength.
Cooper was discharged from the facility and later returned to school in October where he entered the third grade.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.
