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Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., Still Recovering After August Shooting, Receives Prosthetic Eye

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three weeks after completing his inpatient rehab at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago Police Officer Carlos Yanez Jr. is making more progress in his recovery, after he was shot in the line of duty in August.

Yanez, who lost sight in one eye in the shooting, has received his first prosthetic eye, and is expecting to get a custom replacement before Christmas, according to an update his father posted on Facebook.

Update #36 Good Afternoon, Junior wanted me to share some incredible news. He got his first prosthetic eye. The custom...

Posted by Carlos Yanez Jr #CarlosStrong on Thursday, November 4, 2021

Yanez was critically injured in the shooting that took the life of his partner, Officer Ella French, in August.

He spent more than two months in rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, after his initial treatment at University of Chicago Medical Center, and has been doing outpatient rehab since he went home on Oct. 14.

He was partially paralyzed, but his family has said he will never give up, and has hailed his wife, Brenda, as the unsung hero, for being at his side day in and day out.

"He and Brenda are still adjusting to him being out of inpatient rehab. He is continuing outpatient rehab daily and still giving it 110%!!!" his father wrote in a Facebook post. "There is a lot to adjust to. Very basic daily events like going to the bathroom take a lot more time and he needs to be very careful to avoid falls."

"He did have a cold which set him back several days with rehab so he is balancing taking precautions to avoid illnesses with reconnecting with family. Our paternal grandmother Aura was not told about what happened as her health is delicate and we didn't want to stress her. He did visit her this past weekend and she took it well. He also got to talk to our maternal grandmother and give her some peace of mind that he is recovering as best he can," his father added.

Meantime, two brothers, Emonte and Eric Morgan, have been charged in the shooting that killed French and wounded Yanez Jr., and are being held without bail.

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