The family of Cooper Roberts, the eight-year-old boy shot during the Highland Park mass shooting, said Tuesday that he no longer requires IV pain medicine and antibiotics, and no longer needs a feeding tube.
The family shared positive progress Tuesday, saying Cooper's mood has been boosted after all tubes were removed.
Cooper can now eat the food he's been craving, including Lay's dill pickle chips, Cheetos, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, and extra cheddar flavor-blasted Goldfish.
With the tubes removed, Cooper can now maneuver his wheelchair better. His family shared a video of Cooper participating in a wheelchair race down the hallway at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab with his physical therapists.
WATCH: Cooper Roberts, 8, races in his wheelchair. (Courtesy: The Roberts Family)
As the family previously shared, due to ongoing COVID-19 safety protocols, Cooper can only see his whole family once a week for a brief period of time. However, Cooper was happy to spend time with his twin brother, Luke, who the family said he misses desperately.
Cooper also received a special visit from former Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Shazier. Shazier is recovering from a 2017 spinal cord injury and works with those with similar injuries through The Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation.
"Ryan was transparent, authentic, genuine and gracious in sharing insights with us about his path to recovery.We are so grateful for Ryan’s motivational words and great kindness in spending time with Cooper and Luke," the Roberts family said in an update Tuesday. "We know that the Roberts Family will continue our friendship with Ryan, who is one of our family’s favorite football stars and real-life hero for the work he does through the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation."
The family also shared they still do not know Cooper's prognosis.
"Even 50 days past his injury,the doctors don’t know what he may get back and what limitations we will live with for his lifetime," the family said. "We do know that we are infinitely grateful for his survival, and for the many kindnesses we continue to receive, including from all who are working to help Cooper and others impacted head from this nightmare."
This week's message is a big improvement since the family's last update. Last week, the family said Cooper was in constant pain as he continued to suffer internal damage. He was on a constant IV drip of antibiotics and had stomach pains as his body relearned to process liquid food. His family said he also remained on heavy painkillers but was being weaned.
