Five weeks after Matthew Silverstone was shot in the head and chest by a gun-wielding classmate inside Evergreen High School, the 18-year-old student is headed home to continue his long road to rehabilitation.
About 140 first responders and hospital staff celebrated the teen’s release Tuesday from St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, his family said in a statement released by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Silverstone, who was shot a day after his 18th birthday, was one of two students critically wounded in the Sept. 10 shooting. The other student, a 14-year-old whose name has not been publicly released, was shot at close range. He was released from Children’s Hospital on Sept. 30 and is recovering after several surgeries.
Silverstone also had multiple emergency surgeries.
“The doctors prepared us for the worst. But Matthew has never given up. He can now speak. In fact, he is happy to tell you ‘I’m still alive!’” his family said in a statement. “He can walk with assistance. His friends will tell you his sense of humor is back. He has exceeded everyone’s expectations in his recovery.”
Silverstone’s heart stopped twice — once at the scene and once in the ambulance en route to the hospital — his family said, calling the nine-minute attack inside the high school “evil and tragic.”
Amid the panic and chaos, Silverstone helped warn other kids away from the shooter during the attack, his uncle said in a recorded statement a week after the shooting.
“Your generosity has reminded us that we are not alone,” Paige Silverstone, Matthew’s mother, said in a statement, thanking the community for the cards and letters of support, prayers, donations and meals.
“Each act of kindness, each word of encouragement, each prayer, has lifted Matthew and all of us more than I can ever express. You have helped carry us through our darkest moments. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing with us, for believing in miracles, and helping us hold on to hope.”