LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 6-year-old girl paralyzed in a Louisville shooting is joining a local nonprofit's program that promotes childhood education and nonviolence.
Onyx Sands was shot during a road rage incident that started in the area of Interstate 65 and Outer Loop on July 11. She has been recovering in a wheelchair since being shot days after her sixth birthday.
Sands is set to join the Future Healers program Saturday. Christopher 2X Game Changers has devoted resources to supporting children impacted by gun violence with the program, which is a partnership between Christopher 2X's Game Changers, UofL Hospital's Trauma Institute and students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
"It will be an excellent opportunity for Onyx to be a part of the Future Healers program with all the medical challenges she recently has gone through," Chyna Sands, her mother, said in a news release. "I am a nurse, and she has always been very interested in the health sciences and took an interest in my career and the different supplies I would bring home from work. Future Healers allows Onyx to explore the body and be social with other kids."
The goal of the program is to help Louisville children who have been impacted by violence in their neighborhoods to build a better future. Program participants are able to walk through hospitals and learn the importance of the human body, among other things.
2023 - 07 - Future Healers from WNM on Vimeo.
Sands is joining the program on the same day Vanderbilt University Medical Center and School of Medicine representatives and members of Stronger Than My Father will watch the Future Healers Surgery Olympics. Members of the Future Healers program will move to various medical stations to complete a variety of medical tasks.
"This is so exciting to have Onyx to inspire us kids while learning about the human body," 12-year-old Arielle Bryant, a member of the Future Healers program, said in a news release.
A GoFundMe has been created to support Onyx and her family. To donate, click here.
To learn more about Christopher 2X Game Changers, click here.
Related Stories:
- 'It's gonna be major' | Louisville anti-violence nonprofit program expands to Nashville
- Louisville nonprofit program expanding to Nashville, partnering with prestigious medical center
- Organizers of 'Future Healers' program for kids hope to curb Louisville's violence
- Future Healers program visits UofL Hospital during kick-off event
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
