CROWLEY – Chyna Young’s inspiring struggle to overcome paralysis caused when she was shot four times by a former boyfriend is over.

She died Wednesday of complications from her injuries. Chyna Young was 18.

Her daughter, born in October succeeds her. Her killer, Patrick Guillory, is serving 40 years in prison.

Guillory, under a court order to stay away, nevertheless invaded the Young home in the wee hours of the morning.

He pistol whipped Young’s mother, then shot the pregnant teenager in the arm, back and neck, the last causing paralysis.

After several months of “‘intense rehabilitation,” Young slowly regained feeling in her upper torso.

She said in a recent Crowley Post-Signal interview that she was looking forward to walking again.

Chyna graduated with honors from Crowley High School in May of 2011. She had plans to attend college and become a nurse before she was shot. Her mother wasn’t sure she would ever be able to attend college with her injuries. Then one day Chyna had a surprise for her mother.

“I came into her room one day Chyna asked ‘Momma, I need to see your W2’,” said Yokum. “So I asked her ‘why do you need to see that?’”

“So I can see if I qualify for financial aid,” responded Chyna.

Without her mother’s knowledge Chyna, who by this time was using her computer with a utensil she holds in her mouth, had applied to McNeese St. University.

On January 6 of this year, she received a letter from McNeese St. University informing her that she had been accepted. The only thing that changed was her major. -- criminal justice.