“Ethan’s goin home!!!”
Somolya Pritchard shared a post of her brother Ethan Thursday as he left a Jacksonville rehab facility in a wheelchair. Before he left, he rang a bell, sparking cheers from family members, medical staff, and friends who lined the hallway.
A family update page says Ethan will spend the weekend in Tallahassee.
Pritchard was shot in late August in a Havana neighborhood as he was driving a family member home. Crews immediately took Ethan to the hospital following the shooting, where he remained for more than a month.
His family began sharing updates about his recovery on social media as he grew more alert. Neighbors in the community rallied around Pritchard and his family. A fundraiser for the family raised tens of thousands of dollars.
FSU Head Coach Mike Norvell made multiple trips to see Ethan. And players also honored him during a game, wearing armbands with his number and carrying his jersey onto the field.
The Pritchard family even received a letter from President Trump who encouraged Ethan as he recovered.
Ethan Pritchard was transferred to Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville early last month, where he began the next phase of his healing process. Hospital staff and members of the FSU football team were there to send him off.
More recently, Ethan himself appeared to speak on his recovery journey on the family update Facebook page, writing:
“I remember when I couldnt even move my arms or hands. I couldnt lift nothing but my faith and prayers. Now Im out here putting in work, lifting weights, getting stronger every day.
Its not easy, but Im thankful. Thankful for progress, thankful for the pain that pushes me, and thankful for everybody still rocking with me.”
Four people were arrested and charged after shooting. An arrest report found the men were looking for someone who drove a similar car to Ethan’s after separate drive-by shootings in that area.
In a statement last month, the Pritchard family addressed the ongoing legal proceedings saying, “While court proceedings continue, we will not allow them to overshadow this moment of hope and renewal that we have all prayed for.”
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