An 11-year-old boy returned home after a 3 year hospital stay, from a gunshot wound to the head inflicted by his own Mother.
The then-8-year-old Joey Slaight from Montfort, Wisconsin, sustained life-threatening injuries after his mother shot him, his younger brother and herself on Jan. 2, 2015.
The 27-year-old mother, Morgan Slaight, was a recovering methamphetamine addict and died 11 days after her self-inflicted gunshot wound after being placed into a medically induced coma.
Her younger son Jaxon, who was 6-years-old during the shooting, died at the home which belonged to Morgan’s sister.
Joey was however able to survive the bullet that hit him near his left eye.
The boy was considered a ‘goner’ when he arrived to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison after being shot from point-blank range with a .22-caliber handgun.
The injury that he sustained was on the left side of his brain, which caused doctors to be concerned about his motor, language and speech skills as he recovered.
But a year after the shooting, Joey was talking in sentences, running, jumping and completing puzzles on his own, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
After his first recovery period in the hospital, he was moved to a full-time brain rehabilitation treatment facility near Tulsa, Oklahoma, to recover.
The facility is near his fathers family, who was not with his two sons and estranged wife when the shooting occurred.
His dad, Tyler, was also a recovering meth user who struggled with addiction.
Tyler and Morgan reportedly lost custody of their kids at one point because of their addiction before they were able to get Jaxon and Joey back.
The Mother was living with her sister and children in Montfort when she started suffering from severe depression.
Morgan went to a mental health institute after threatening to commit suicide, but was released a day before she decided to shoot herself and her two children.
The 11-year-old’s progress has baffled neurosurgeons from UW Hospital because he was never expected to recover any quality of life after his gunshot wound.
On Saturday, after 38 months and 29 days in the hospital and rehabilitation centers, Joey went home. His family announced his return on a Facebook page which is dedicated to his recovery called ‘Joey Strong’.
‘This boy has fought, scraped, clawed and willed his way to recovery,‘ the post read.
‘We just want everyone to know how your prayers have moved mountains over the last 3 years. As we all said our goodbyes today to the staff who have become family at his neurological rehabilitation facility, Joey smiled and simply said: “I am going home, finally”.’
The last time the child was home was when he was 8-years-old, so the family has to start from scratch with furniture, toys and clothing.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Joey as he transitions back to home life.