Great Bend boy injured in accidental shooting working to walk again

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Great Bend 12-year-old Nash Lindberg is learning to walk again as he prepares to finally go back home from the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska. In August, Lindberg was injured in an accidental shooting at a friend’s house. His journey is one of pain and grief, but also of great strides.

Achievements and setbacks are documented from the start, up to the point he’s at now, getting closer to walking again and looking forward to going home from the hospital a few hours away from Great Bend.

“On Facebook, I read the comments and it looks like I inspire a lot of people, and my parents remind me that God is working through me when it gets tough,” Lindberg said.

The 12-year-old arrived at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in August, soon after the day his dad received a call from Nash’s mom he’ll never forget.

“Karen called and said, ‘Nash is alive, but he’s been shot,” Nash’s father, Nels Lindberg recalled. “I immediately began praying. I was driving, but praying like a madman."

A friend shot Nash Lindberg after picking up what he thought was an unloaded gun.

“I walked over there and he started pointing it at me. I said, ‘stop pointing it at me in case it is loaded,’" Lindberg said. “I kept pushing the barrel over. He said, ‘I’ll put it on safety, but I think he put it on fire. Then it happened.”

The bullet tore through Lindberg’s side. Two fragments lodged into his spine. Doctors said the prognosis in terms of the 12-year-old boy’s regained ability to walk, wasn’t good.

Lindberg and his family say their story is a reminder to treat any gun as if it’s loaded at all times.

“It’d be nice if no one else would go through this,” Lindberg said. “I can put myself in their shoes, and I don’t want anybody else to go through this. If everyone can treat a gun like it’s loaded, that’d be nice.”

Now, the 12-year-old is focused on what’s ahead and his goal not only to walk again but also to play golf again.

“As parents, you can’t cover up the grief. You can’t bury it,” Nels Lindberg said of his son’s up-hill battle. “We help him grieve and cry and tell him to get it out. ‘Cry as hard as you want, scream, but get it out and let it go.'" “We have to move forward. We can’t dwell on that place. We can’t leave our mind in that bad spot.”

Lindberg has more than 60 days of recovery behind him at Madonna and a lifetime to overcome challenges ahead of him.

The Great Bend boy said he has a story that God is helping him to write. He’s looking for a miracle but knows they don’t always happen without a lot of work.

“I don’t' want to be arrogant here, but I feel like I have a lot of grit,” Lindberg said. “

“The mind is the most powerful muscle in our body. We’ve got to learn how to use it to our advantage,” his father added.

With that, Lindberg is learning how to inspire others along his journey.

Copyright 2020 KWCH. All rights reserved.