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‘I'll be OK': Man paralyzed in shooting adjusts to new reality

By Briana Harper
By Briana Harper

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Caleb Keller, 22, was shot in the neck two months ago while sitting in a car in a Cornelius neighborhood.

He survived, but it came with challenges that he works to overcome every day.

"No guarantees or nothing, so you got to play it day by day," Keller said.

Keller said he’s thankful to be alive after a bullet pierced his neck, clipped a vertebra and stopping in his shoulder.

“It caught that on the way through, and I guess chipped the bullet and sent little fragments in my spinal cord," he said.

Keller is partially paralyzed and adjusting to a new reality.

"You go from walking one day, doing this and that and then the next day, nothing," he said.

Doctors said there's a 99% chance he'll never walk again, but Keller said he has different plans.

"Right now, the position I'm in sucks, but I'm not going to stop until I walk,” he said.

He goes through rehab every day, stretching and working on his strength in hopes of regaining his range of motion.

He's already made progress by slowly getting some movement back in his arms and hands.

With the progress, comes some pain.

"More so, nerve pain in my arms and stuff,” Keller said. "They say the more you feel, the better it is."

[LINK: GoFundMe for Caleb Keller]

Keller said he's also had to ask his family and friends for help unlike ever before.

"I do anything on my own so now, to have to ask for this or ask for that, that's the biggest challenge to me," Keller said.

He's taking on these new challenges one day at a time.

"I'll be alright, as long as I’m positive,” Keller said. “I'll be OK."

Keller’s family members and friends will be hosting a fundraiser from 12 p.m. until 2 a.m. Saturday at Al's Bar and Grille in Cornelius.

Caleb Can Fundraiser:

  • 50/50 Cornhole tournament: $15/person; bring a partner; registration is 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
  • 50/50 raffle
  • Prize raffle
  • Silent auction: 12 p.m. until 8 p.m.
  • DJ Old Skool: 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Police arrested three suspects and they were charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and felony conspiracy.

Cox Media Group

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