MSU shooting victim's family seeks help to get wheelchair accessible van
A Michigan State University student critically wounded in the Feb. 13 shooting that left three students dead needs help getting a van with a wheelchair lift, his brother said Monday.
Josh Statly, one of Nate Statly's older brothers who created a GoFundMe page in February to raise money to help Nate and his family, said his brother is now talking and laughing again, but the family needs a vehicle to get him to and from therapy sessions once he returns home. Statly is now in a rehab facility.
Josh Statly also said the family has to modify their home because of his limited mobility.
"Even though physical therapy carries on, it is likely he will need to use a wheelchair, and my parents will need to purchase a handicapable van with a wheelchair lift," Josh Statly wrote Monday in a post on the GoFundMe page, which had raised more than $305,000 as of Tuesday morning. "We are asking if any folks might be able to offer us some help in this area. With my parents being at Nate's bedside 24/7 and managing the house renovations from afar, they haven't been able to dedicate much time to searching for such a vehicle."
"My parents don't have much time to be online and are often on the phone all day, so please feel free to message me with any ideas, and I'd be happy to get the information to them," he wrote.
Nate Statly, a junior who was studying environmental biology and zoology at MSU when the shooting happened, was one of five students wounded in the attack.
Last month, Nate Statly and Troy Forbush, who was also shot and injured in the campus shooting, filed notices in the Michigan Court of Claims of their intent to sue MSU.
According to court documents, Nate Statly isn't able to walk, use his arm or leg on the left side of his body or consume whole foods. His right ear and eye are sutured closed, and he has significant and permanent scarring.
Documents also detailed that he spent nine weeks at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, two days at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, four weeks at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor and has been at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.
Five students, including Forbush and Statley, were wounded in the shooting. Two of them were identified as John Hao, a 20-year-old student from China who was paralyzed from the waist down, and Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez. The name of the fifth has not been released.
Three others, Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson, Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods, Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe, were killed in the shooting.
Josh Statly said his family is eager to get Nate home.
"Recently, Nate has given us so much hope by demonstrating his dedication and strength" during rehab," said Josh in his GoFundMe update. "He's also been talking and laughing again, which has only reminded me how much happiness Nate can bring to a room, even in this situation."