Hello!

My name is Pam Stefanich and my grandson is Cooper Eggman. My husband John and I are writing this today with hope that everyone can come together to support Cooper on his road to recovery. Cooper is a young, vibrant, 15.5-year-old who lights up every room he walks in.

On Friday, July 17th, Cooper’s life changed in the blink of an eye when a diving accident occurred in the pool at home. He was airlifted to Comer’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago with a spinal cord injury. The initial CT scan upon arriving at the hospital, showed damage to C4 & C5. The same night of his arrival he was taken to the OR for his first surgery, a C4-C5 anterior discectomy, to get those vertebrae back in line with the rest of his spine. The surgery was successful, but Cooper remained on a ventilator and hooked up to every machine you can imagine. He went for a MRI on Saturday to get a more in-depth look at the damage of his spinal cord. His 6 teams of doctors worked together and reviewed all of his imaging to determine what the next course of action would be. The teams decided a second surgery within just 36 hours of being in the hospital was the best option for Cooper. Sunday morning, he was taken back to surgery for a C4-C6 posterior laminectomy and fusion to stabilize his neck and relieve the pressure on his spinal cord. After that surgery, he was able to come off the ventilator and has been breathing on his own ever since. Before his first surgery Cooper was unable to move his legs and his right arm. But by the grace of God and his team of doctors, he CAN move all his limbs today!

With all of that being said, Cooper has a long road ahead of him. When he is released from the PICU, he will be transferred to inpatient rehab at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago. This will start his journey to relearn how to use not only his arms and hands, but also teach him to walk again. Every single day Cooper has been making great strides from small finger movements to walking from bed to a chair. As most of you know Cooper lives and breathes football. He was looking forward to getting back on the field at Minooka with all of his friends and teammates this fall. The road ahead will be challenging but Cooper has the drive and determination to get back home to his family, friends and to cheer on his team from the sidelines!

As all of you can imagine, the financial aspect of this life changing event accumulates all too quickly. Both Stephanie and Jonathan have been by Cooper’s side around the clock. We are launching this fundraiser to ensure that Cooper gets the best care possible while trying to relieve some of the financial stress for his parents. Donations will be in support of his current PICU stay, the transfer/stay at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab for rehabilitation and any future outpatient rehab. We have no doubt that Cooper will come back strong. He is a fighter and has already been staying so positive, keeping the doctors and nurses laughing in true Cooper fashion. Please consider donating to help Cooper on his road to recovery. If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing with your family, friends and on your social media. The Eggman and Stefanich families thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the calls, texts and prayers that we received throughout this difficult time. We are blessed beyond words to have so much love and support for our guy!

TEAM COOPER. #11