Cipriano family offers update, seeks donations

From left: Sal Cipriano, Tanner Cipriano, Rose Cipriano, Isabella Cipriano

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – A Farmington Hills family devastated by a deadly attack at their home in April 2012 has offered an update on the victims' ongoing recovery efforts while they seek donations for medical bills.

The family's eldest son, Tucker Cipriano, with the help of his friend Mitchell Young brutally attacked Tucker's father, Robert, his mother and brother with baseball bats inside the family's home. Tucker's mother and brother survived but suffered serious injuries.

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Tucker and Young are serving prison sentences after Tucker pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Young was convicted on the same charge.

Now, more than 2 and 1/2 years since the attack, the family released the following statement on their conditions, both physically and financially:

Dear Members of the Cipriano Support Page,

The Cipriano and Trahan Family would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays, and we hope you are all enjoying the season with your loved ones. And because of all of your support and prayer, we are happy to report that Rose, Tanner, Isabella, and Sal will be together for the holidays, so thank you for helping us reach this opportunity!

Rose has made a miraculous recovery, and is kept busy taking care of the kids and being the mom she has always been. While also keeping up with Isabella's many academic and athletic activities, most of her day is spent managing Sal's needs and nurse care, an overwhelming task that is made a little easier by the many of you who have and continue to help with things such as driving, dinners, and just being available to her. And for this, Rose is beyond thankful to all of you.

Tanner has just finished his first semester of sophomore year at Notre Dame, and is majoring in both American Studies and Film. As a member of the university's rowing team, Tanner is competing all over the country. Of course Sal is his Number One Fan.

Isabella is excelling academically in 6th grade at Our Lady of Sorrows where she has just participated in the school's play, The Little Mermaid, with the role of Scuttle, a character that highlighted her talents (and her sassy attitude). Having finished volleyball season about a month ago, Isabella is now playing basketball at St. Fabian, for which team Sal is helping coach.

Speaking of Sal, he is making tremendous progress as he becomes more and more independent each day. As of today, he is able to move much easier, to eat solid food, and is beginning to drink water again, all of which are huge steps in his recovery. Occasionally, he even helps with daily chores (when he's not passing them off to Tanner). However, Sal still requires special medical care for most of the day and night, and with this need and others, the financial cost of his medical needs continues to be substantial.

Unfortunately, since neither health insurance nor Medicaid provide for this type of professional home care, the Cipriano Children's Trust has been depleted mostly due to the cost of his recovery, but also because of the added costs of Isabella and Tanner's academic tuitions as well as daily living expenses.

Because of these financial issues, please consider making a gift to the Cipriano Children's Trust. Mail your gift to:

PO box 2503
Farmington Hills
MI 48334

Or go to the website www.ciprianochildrenstrust.org and click the PayPal link.

One day, we hope to somehow repay all of you for what you have done and are still doing for our family, but for now let us just say thank you for everything, thank you for all of the support and prayers, and thank you for your love. Because it is only with all of your help these last few years, that our family is able to celebrate Christmas together this year, and for that, we thank all of you. And as proof that your prayers are truly working, we have attached a photo of Rose, Tanner, Isabella, and Sal from this past Thanksgiving.

So from our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!