Colorado Strong: Caleb Medley’s recovery and hope for the future
The strength to stand is a huge milestone in Caleb Medley’s recovery.
He was shot in the face by James Holmes during the theater shooting in 2012.
“He was still essentially, bedridden or a few hours in his wheelchair, eating small amounts by feeding tube,” said Otis Medley, Caleb’s father. “We fed him at night in the feeding tube and essentially he was invalid.”
But now, they see no limit of possibilities for Caleb.
“It’s not something I’m gonna allow to rule our lives,” Otis Medley said.
Caleb, an avid movie fan and comedian, was watching the first showing of “The Dark Night Rises” with his wife, Katie, when the gunman opened fire.
His brain was seriously damaged in the shooting. His wife was also at the theater but she wasn’t hurt. In fact, she gave birth to the couple’s son, Hugo Jackson Medley, just days later. She was giving birth as he was fighting for his life in the same Aurora hospital.
Due to the nature of his injury, Caleb can understand everything you say to him. But his response is still impaired, though he is making progress.
His love for movies is still strong, when he met with a KRDO NewsChannel 13’s Greg Miller, he had a T-shirt with Zach Galifianakis on the front and even talked about his excitement for the next Star Trek movie.
He also uses charts with letters to spell out words.
“It’s to reboot the brain in those areas,” Otis Medley said. “Just reinforce if he’s got a good handle on it.”
The Medleys are hopeful most days. Though it isn’t always easy.
“Don’t misunderstand me, there are the days when I’m thinking, why do we even bother?” he said. “It’s one of those problems, but the reason we don’t is that I don’t focus on what’s going on in Denver as much.”
Caleb’s arm is still in a brace, but he’s slowly regaining control. His father credits the recovery to Caleb’s work ethic.
“He wants to walk, do things like drive and he knows the only way to go through that is to go through the process,” he said.
And when asked whether he’s moving forward, Caleb’s response: “Yes.”
Caleb and his wife testified in the trial and the entire family says they are for the death penalty.
