AURORA, Colo. — AURORA, Colo. — With each step, Caleb Ingelhart gets closer to being the fun-loving, active, 11-year-old he was before his crash. However, that road isn’t easy.
"I’m in a lot of pain," Caleb Ingelhart said while walking to his front door.
Caleb was hit and dragged by a suspected drunk driving back in June while riding his bike. Those moments were caught on a surveillance camera.
"I got terrified, and I was underneath his car and yelled, 'Stop the car! Stop the car!'" Caleb Ingelhart said.
This innocent boy, who loves sports and playing with friends, was forced to spend the next five weeks in the hospital. Caleb had five surgeries during his time there to repair a tendon in his knee and multiple skin grafts for the road rash he suffered. His mother, Deborah Ingelhart, has been by her son's side through the agony.
"There are times he was in so much pain that he would scream," Deborah Ingelhart said."You don’t want to see your child go through that."
His wounds are still fresh. Caleb Ingelhart said he's in pain when he's in bed. Deborah Ingelhart says her son had his first full night of sleep on July 15th, more than a month after the accident.
Barely able to move, Caleb Ingelhart is forced to isolate while he recovers.
"I just miss my friends so much," Caleb Ingelhart said with tears in his eyes.
Deborah Ingelhart now must act as mom and in-home nurse, forcing her to take a leave from her job for months.
"Right now, I’m freaking out because bills don’t stop and my income has," Deborah Ingelhart said.
Through Denver7 viewers donations, we were able to help the Ingelharts by paying their bills for the month, which includes mortgage, water and energy bills, among others.
"We appreciate it so much because it’s just amazing how the community can come together at a time like this as a single mom. It’s amazing," Deborah Ingelhart said.
Because Caleb Ingelhart is missing his friends, Deborah Ingelhart is organizing a drive-by parade on Friday, July 30 at 12:30 p.m. near their home at the intersection of Granby Street and E. 13th Avenue in Aurora. She is inviting anyone in the community to join.
If you'd still like to donate, the family has set up a GoFundMe.
Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.
