TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: Steven Cobenais

  • The Actual Victim II

    The Actual Victim II

    Fighting Power Helps Red Lake Shooting Victim:

    I’ve done entries before about Steven Cobenais. He is one of the surviving victims of the Red Lake shootings. Gunman Jeff Weise asked Steven Cobenais if he believed in God. When Cobenais said yes, Weise shot him in the face. Steven Cobenais ended up losing an eye and having a severe brain injury.

    Last summer, Cobenais suffered a major seizure. For a while, he wore a helmet to protect him from falls. He is back at Red Lake High School now, where he struggles with short-term memory loss.

    During his recovery, his father, Llewellyn Thunder, spent weeks at his son’s bedside and lost his job because of it. During that time, their home was vandalized and robbed, leaving it uninhabitable. Now they live in subsidized housing that is only guaranteed through next month.

    And again I say, how can anyone in their right mind call Jeff Weise a victim?

    The Thunders said they were grateful to people who contributed to a community fund set up in their son’s name.

    Donations are accepted at the Steven Cobenais Fund, Deerwood Bank, P.O. Box 1278, Bemidji, MN 56601.

  • The Actual Victim

    The Actual Victim

    Survivor of Red Lake shootings looking forward to school:

    Read about what’s happened to one of the Red Lake survivors…

    Steven Cobenais, 15, lost an eye and suffered a severe brain injury but didn’t lose his sense of humor. Doctors predicted he’d face a life of paralysis and severe mental incapacity, but he has beaten the odds. He’s walking and hopes to learn to drive, though doctors aren’t sure how far he’ll progress and his parents say he has changed.

    Cobenais told the station he remembered gunman Jeff Weise as a “goth” and “weird,” but didn’t know the 16-year-old well and had no idea why Weise targeted him.

    “He asked me if I believe in God, and I said ‘Yeah,’ and he shot me,” he recalled.

    Cobenais’ parents never left his bedside at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D. When they made it back home to the Red Lake Indian Reservation, they found their home had been vandalized and many of his most treasured possessions had been stolen.

    “All my games, and clothes,” he said.

    His father lost his summer job after Cobenais had a seizure in June. Because of the vandalism and expenses the family gave up their home and moved in with Steven’s grandmother.

    Cobenais still faces two more major reconstructive operations: one to put a metal plate in his head and one to put in a prosthetic eye.

    And some people have the nerve to say Jeff Weise is a victim.

    A fund has been set up to help the Cobenais family with their expenses. Donations can be mailed to: Steven Cobenais Fund, Deerwood Bank, P.O. Box 1278, Bemidji, MN 56607

  • Victims Recovering

    Victims Recovering

    Wounded Red Lake teen’s first words: ‘I’m hungry’:

    (Log in info) Some good news out of Red Lake. The two kids who were most seriously injured at Red Lake High School seem to be improving.

    First Steven Cobenais…

    For the first time in more than two weeks, Red Lake High School shooting victim Steven Cobenais was able to speak to his parents Monday.

    The words, spoken from his intensive-care bed just after his breathing tube was removed, could have come from any teenage at almost any time.

    “I’m hungry,” he uttered.

    MeritCare neurosurgeon Alex Mendez said Tuesday that he had wondered if Cobenais would ever get to this point.

    “This kid’s going to die on me,” is what Mendez recalled thinking when he first saw Cobenais’ CT scan revealing a brain riddled with bullet fragments.

    Cobenais, who was shot in the forehead and has lost his left eye, is now in serious condition. He has made miracles out of mundane tasks, such as squeezing a hand when asked to and talking in short sentences, Mendez said.

    And he eats Jell-O.

    No small feat when doctors are concerned about your ability to swallow. There are still the rehab and health hazards to guard against, but Cobenais is off on the right foot, Mendez said.

    “This isn’t just a scientific miracle,” Mendez said. “We’ve done just the basics. … There’s something more here.”

    And Jeffrey May…

    May, who is recovering from a gunshot to his face and a stroke, was moved from the intensive care unit Friday and upgraded to guarded condition.

    Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.