NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In 2018, a woman walking her dog in Inglewood was the victim of a brutal shooting and was left to die on the street by her attackers.
That woman is Maya Cluchey. She was 39 at the time of the attack, which forever changed the trajectory of both her life and her husband's, Brian Carroll.
From the moment the shooting happened, recovery began for Cluchey. The bullet hit her spine and damaged her internal organs.
"It went in at a level of about L1, L2 which is in the lower section of the spinal cord," said Carroll. "So, pretty much instantly from then, she was paralyzed from the waist down."
Since the shooting, the couple left Nashville. They left in part because of the way the shooting, and investigation that followed, impacted their mental state but also to seek the best physical rehabilitation care they could. At first, that meant moving to Boston.
"We needed a plan. We needed to figure something out. So, that's what we did. We went up there," said Carroll.
The main focus for the couple of the past two and half years has been Maya's recovery. Eventually, it led them back to her home, in California.
Currently, she's receiving care at a nonprofit rehabilitation organization called Next Step. They help people who are paralyzed in their recovery from injury.
Carroll is trying to raise money for the organization by taking part in a 130-mile ride from San Diego to LA.Here's his fundraising page.
Back in Nashville, friends still remember Maya and Brian fondly. Mark Oglesby stepped up for the couple after the accident, acting as a middle man for information about how they were doing.
"They have just grabbed the bull by the horns and just embraced their health, embraced their wellness, staying very positive, very forward-thinking," said Oglesby.
Maya said she's starting to feel good about the chance she'll walk again. Some of the feeling is returning in her legs.
"My body is starting to wake up. I can't feel before my knees, but now my legs are starting to tingle. My feet are starting to tingle and it's great," she said.
Since the shooting, the couple has stopped watching progress with the investigation.
MNPD was trying to link Maya's shooting to the Cobra murders, but she was unable to pick the suspects out of a lineup or identify the car they were riding in.
