Former Vancouver Whitecaps youth program player Nathan Demian was celebrating an Ohio State victory that had propelled his top-ranked Buckeyes to the final four in football when he was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout between two passing cars. .
“It went through my right abdomen and then it went through my entire body and then it ended up in my left back,” Nathan, who is recounting the Dec. 7 shooting in Columbus to CTV News for the first time, told CTV News.
The 22-year-old was conscious and able to walk to the ambulance, so he assumed his injuries were minor.
“I thought I was going to go play on Friday. I thought they were just going to take the bullet out. I thought he would be fully recovered,” Nathan said.
But the young footballer suffered serious internal injuries and was about to lose his life. His sister Anna, who is a family doctor in Langley, rushed to his side, not knowing if her brother would survive.
“He almost died on the operating table because of the huge blood loss there was,” Anna said. Although she survived the operation, she was warned that she might need a feeding tube and an ostomy bag for the rest of her life. But his prognosis has changed dramatically.
“Despite the severity of the injury, the recovery has been nothing short of a miracle,” Anna said. “The fact that he is walking, talking, moving and recovering is certainly quite remarkable.”
Demian made so much progress that he was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve so he could spend the holidays at home with his family.
“I could cry with joy right now – what it feels like to have him home, to be alive and well and to hear his voice again,” Anna said. “Those were those moments that you really can’t find words for.”
While at Langley, Nathan was as active as he could be.
“Once I got out of the hospital, every day was like a giant leap, a giant leap, a giant leap, a giant leap. So I couldn’t be more grateful for how my recovery is going,” said Nathan, who added that there is still a long road ahead that includes another major surgery to reattach part of his small intestine.
He has returned to Columbus to prepare for that surgery. While the fierce competitor is disappointed to have missed his team’s appearance in the final four, Nathan knows how lucky he is. “Once I knew I probably should have died, I appreciated just being alive and the miracle that it happened a little more.”
Demian is eager to start training again with the Buckeyes for the 2025 season, which begins in August.
“I would love to be back at the beginning of the year, that is my goal. And talking to doctors is a realistic goal,” he said.
His sister believes that if anyone can do it, it’s Nathan. “He continues to make progress we could not have imagined. So we continue not to crush the dreams, but simply flow with them,” he said.
Regardless of whether he’ll be able to return to the field for his final season with Ohio State, Demian says the experience has changed him.
“The fact that I’m here and that I’m still alive and getting a second chance at life is something I definitely don’t want to take for granted and I don’t want to waste,” he said.
“I really want to try to do my best, be successful and improve people’s lives in everything I can do.”
