Fundraiser held for man shot and paralyzed during robbery in Taylor

TAYLOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - John Henry likes to take life one day at a time. 

The Taylor man is paralyzed. He lost his right eye and part of his brain after his neighbor shot him in the head while trying to rob him in Feb. of 2014. 

"I went to school with John and I hung out with him about six years ago and I was traveling across the country and I got the phone call that he had got shot. And I came back to Michigan and I helped him for about 3 ½ years," said Bobby Turner, John's friend. 

Five years later, on a late Sunday in Aug, friends gathered together in Taylor for a benefit in John's honor. 

"He needs his house handicap able, "said benefit organizer Lenora Hicks. He lives in two rooms of his house and he's got an upstairs and downstairs and he needs a shower for a handicapped person. He needs a whole lot. And that' why I am here today. I want to help him to get where he could be more independent for himself."

"He's someone, he struggles every day," Bobby said. "He went from hero to zero and I hate to say it. But his life changed."

Before John was shot, he was the National President of the Iron Mustangs Motorcycle Club. Members of the Iron Mustangs as well as other clubs were gathered at John's fundraiser.

"This is a community of brotherhood right here," Bobby said. "Even though we may not have the same patches, we're all the same family in a sense."

"They all come together and they join together and they help whoever is in need," said friend Susan Harris. 

"I couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to support me through my dark days," John said.