Donna and Misael Tijerina know how close they came to losing their 13-year-old son Nicholas on Monday afternoon.
"I think it might've been a different story if they wouldn't have acted so quickly and gotten him here," Donna explained.
Nicholas was at basketball tryouts when he was shot—allegedly by a man target practicing on land near Betty Harwell Middle School.
Donna said the last four days have been a blur as she and her husband try and make sense of what happened to their son.
"The only thing I want is for him to get better,” Donna started. “I want for him to walk out of here the fantastic kid that he is."
While that is what any parent would want for their child, to walk out of the hospital after such a horrible ordeal, it might not happen for Nicholas.
His surgeon, Doctor Mark Lieser, told Action 4 News that Nicholas cannot move his legs.
"Obviously there is nerve damage,” Lieser explained. “With an injury like this you have to wait and see to what extent things will recover. At this point it's too soon to make any type of predictions."
The bullet that struck Nicholas is still inside.
Dr. Lieser said they will leave it in for now because it is not a threat to any of Nicholas’ vital organs.
“Once the bullet has done its harm and it’s still in the body there is no reason to take it out,” Lieser said.
Donna and Misael said, despite the reason their son is in the hospital they cannot be angry.
She said they have to stay strong for Nicholas.
"I honestly don't have the energy to be angry,” Donna said.
“I can't go to that place...not with how my son is."
"That's all we're doing is concentrating on his well being and being there for him," Misael added.
While the road to recovery looks to be a long one---Donna said Nicholas is in good spirits and not matter what the future holds for her little athlete she is just happy he is alive.
A bank account has been set up for Nicholas at IBC bank under Nicholas Tijerina.
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