LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A young Louisville man's life changed forever, when he was shot just days before Thanksgiving.
Jericho Wilks survived, but it came at a cost. "It's a second chance," he said.
On November 19, Wilks was shot in the neck. It was a devastating day for the 19 year old, who moved to Louisville to start a business. He left all of his loved ones thousands of miles away in Oregon.
"Obviously, we were all terrified, when we got the phone call about what happened to him," said Jessica Lyle, Wilks' mother.
Wilks doesn't want to go into detail about the night he was shot, but police are investigating.
Between the medically induced coma and the ventilators to help him breathe, it was touch and go for a while at UofL Hospital in Louisville.
"They thought I wouldn't make it. They also told my family I'd be a vegetable," Wilks said. He beat those odds, but it came at a heavy price.
The gunshot severed his spine, which left him paralyzed from the chest down.
"I kept thinking I could just get up out of the wheelchair and walk out, and it's not as simple as that," Wilks said.
He has spent nearly two months recovering at Frazier Rehab relearning how to take care of himself. He has worked to do many things he used to take for granted including putting on deodorant or changing his shirt. He is coming to terms with his new reality.
Jericho Wilks, 19, was shot in November and left paralyzed from the chest down. He spent months in the hospital learning to take care of himself. (WDRB Image) Jan. 26, 2024
"Things could always be worse," Wilks said. Now he is ready to get back to doing the things he loves like playing video games and going fishing with his brothers.
"I'm ready to be back with my family and maybe make up for some lost time," he said.
While his life could’ve ended on Nov. 19, Wilks said he's so thankful it didn’t. His doctor, Camilo Castillo, said Wilks might even be able to drive again someday.
Wilks believes his possibilities are limitless. "There's no telling where I'll end up six months from now -- a year from now."
Wilks gets to leave the hospital on Sunday. He plans to fly back to Portland with his mother and older brother.
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