Silver Creek man recovers after being shot in hunting accident
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SILVER CREEK, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A Silver Creek man is on the road to recovery after almost losing his leg in a hunting accident in December.
Dec. 28 started out as a normal day of deer hunting for 23-year-old Nikolas Stalker, his father-in-law and Stalker's friend Bobby.
"We went out for one last hurrah," Stalker said. "I got two deer this season, so I was just hoping for a third."
On their way back to the truck, the three men had to walk down a slippery hill along Buffalo Creek Road in Elma.
"There's a little ravine that goes down to the road, it's maybe like a 30-foot drop," Stalker said. "It was icy and rocky. My father-in-law goes first and slips his way down."
Stalker's father-in-law made it down safely. When it was Bobby's turn, something went terribly wrong.
"Halfway down he slipped and fell backwards and when he fell backwards, the muzzle loader went off," Stalker said.
Stalker was shot in the leg and immediately thought of the worst outcome.
"(I thought) I'm gonna die. Because I just got shot and I see all this blood coming out of me," he said. "My wife is pregnant. She's due next month with our baby and the first thought that went through my mind was my baby is not going to know their father."
Help arrived shortly after and Stalker was taken to ECMC for surgery. He spent almost two weeks in the hospital recovering and learning how to walk again.
He still has a difficult time walking and has months of physical therapy ahead of him, but he considers himself very lucky.
"It didn't go through the other side and it didn't break a bone," he said. "If Bobby was one millimeter to the left or to the right, or up or down, things could've been way, way different."
Since the accident, the community has wrapped their arms around the couple by providing meals and offering support.
"It's beautiful," Stalker said. "I can't even express the amount of love I have for everybody who's supporting me, who prayed for me, who donated food or finances or just the simplest of words."
Stalker and his wife will be welcoming their first child next month. To support them, click here.
Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.