Imagine sending your son off to college and getting the worst phone call of your life. That’s what happened to Rebecca Rivkin who also happens to be a doctor. On July 1st, 2021 Dr. Rivkin received a call that her son had been hit by a stray bullet while riding the subway home from his internship in Chicago.
Her son, Max Solomon Lewis, was a 20-year-old student at the University of Chicago. He was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. Max was awake and alert in the hospital and he was able to communicate with his family by blinking his eyes.
Doctors said he would never walk or eat again, nor breathe on his own. He was paralyzed from the neck down. Max was on a ventilator to help him breathe. Max’s mother said her son spelled out a message on a letter board that read “If I have to live like this, pull the plug, please. Seriously.” Max was taken off life support a few days later.
Max was a native of Denver, and he was double-majoring in computer science and economics. One morning he was on his way to an internship and later that day he was on a ventilator. He didn’t want to be left in that condition so his family complied with his wishes. All because of a stray bullet that was not intended for a bright boy who had his whole life ahead of him.
We are losing some amazing people who would have made such a difference in our world. Max Solomon Lewis died so senselessly. Smart, sweet, funny, hard working and ambitious. Another person who was shot while attending college was Drew Rainer from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. Some robbers broke into his house near school. They stole electronics and other items. Then they asked Drew for his password to his iPad. When Drew didn’t give it to them they shot him and he died at his house. He tried to fight the gunman and he saved his girlfriend. She was shot in the hand but lived. Fortunately the iPad was traced and they found the gunman. But it’s another tragedy where kids can’t even attend school without violence and murder.
It was the end of the July 4th weekend, during which 100 people were shot in Chicago, 18 of them fatally, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said. I can’t believe Chicago is such a violent place. No one would believe that such a wonderful kid like Max Lewis would deserve to be taken away from so many people who loved him
Dreadful story. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a child to such a senseless act.
I feel like this story didn’t get that much press nationwide and it’s such a heartbreaking story. I don’t hear about a lot of changes that are making Chicago safe. I don’t think that U Chicago should be ranked so high if you have to worry about being shot while traveling from an internship. Also, the students have become accustomed to being carjacked, attacked and robbed as if it is a normal event. It’s not normal. You shouldn’t have to risk your life to go to school. We lost a guy who had so much to offer and was minding his own business. I will be forever sad about this needless loss of life.
He was alert enough to know what happened to him and that is the hardest part. Such a smart, good guy and he had to see that he was shot and that his life was over. That image will always stay with his family – the way he knew he was paralyzed. A beautiful kid who is ruined in an instant by a crazy person with a gun who can so easily kill another human being and walk away with no feeling.
He was so well-liked at his internship and so respected among his colleagues. If people want to shoot each other they shouldn’t involve a beautiful kid who was minding his own business and taking the subway. He could have contributed so much to this world. He was incredibly smart and talented. This is the second Univ. of Chicago student murdered in a short time. It’s not worth it to live in that area. His parents much be suffering so much.
The U Chicago students are so very upset by the loss of Max Lewis. What is Chicago going to do about this? The school must put pressure on the mayor. Stop the insanity! This beautiful boy should be with us today.
Rest in peace Max. Your bright light will always shine.
It is the saddest story ever. The person who fired the gun ran away. It has become too dangerous in our country. This young boy had everything going for him all for a senseless thug.