Here’s a video that will bring a big smile to your face.
It was tweeted Wednesday afternoon by Joy Dobbs, mother of Dakotah Earley, the man who was nearly killed when an armed robber shot him three times in Lincoln Park last month.
Less than eight weeks ago, Chicago police were told that Earley’s case was likely going to turn into a murder investigation. But he’s been fighting back every day.
He turned 24 a couple of weeks after the shooting.
On June 10, he moved to acute rehab. Last week, doctors removed wires from his jaw, which was badly damaged by a bullet.
Today, Dakotah spoke with his mom in a short video clip. And, in a great relief, he appears to communicate without the aid of a voicebox as was expected just a few weeks ago.
“Say ‘Hi,’ Dakotah,” Joy Dobbs says to her son.
“Hi,” he replies, feeding himself from a red cup.
Earlier this month, Dobbs said her son is “hell-bent” on remaining a Lincoln Park resident after he goes home. He has undergone at least six surgeries and doctors had to amputate one of his legs above the knee. But he’s slugging away every day.
“I am grateful to have my son,” Dobbs tweeted earlier this month.
And all of Chicago is grateful she does, too.
“We know all of Chicago has his back. With the strength of the city, all things are possible. A true son of Chicago,” Dobbs recently wrote in an update on Dakotah’s GoFundMe campaign. An earlier version of the campaign raised over $100,000 to offset medical bills and travel expenses for Dakotah’s family. His mom lives in Georgia but has been at his side since shortly after the shooting.
Prosecutors last month charged 19-year-old Tyshon Brownlee with shooting and robbing Dakotah Earley. Brownlee is being held without bail.