'I did not ask for this at all': Stabbing victim recounts random attack in Sask. restaurant
Ryan John is still recovering from having a four-inch hunting knife plunged into his head by a stranger while picking up his order at Boston Pizza in Prince Albert on Oct. 14, 2020.
“He stabbed me once in the back right here ... the tip of the blade touched the other side of my head it went so far in.”
John was stabbed twice in the skull. During the attack he says he heard his attacker call him a “snitch.”
“I looked down at myself and I’m just spraying blood.”
A restaurant employee intervened and the attacker fled the scene.
Prince Albert police found the suspect, 19-year-old Trent Fox, moments later near the restaurant.
Fox was charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to four years in prison on July 8 in Prince Albert Provincial Court.
John says he wondered why the attack happened.
“I did not ask for this at all, he didn’t know me and I didn’t know him,” John said.
I DON’T REALLY FEAR DEATH
Doctors say John lost about 10 bags of blood and was close to death.
John was transported to Victoria Hospital and then airlifted in a STARS helicopter to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.
“And I thought I don’t want my mother to worry and the last thing I would want for her is to wake up and get that call about what happened,” he said.
John suffered an intracranial brain hemorrhage and was put into an induced coma so physicians could treat his injuries.
He was 21-years-old at the time of the attack. His mother, Michelle Hunt, was told by doctors the part of his brain responsible for mobility and sight was severed and he may be blind and never walk again.
Hunt had to make the decision to allow doctors to perform a high-risk surgery to try to repair his brain.
Part of John’s skull was removed and his body could have rejected the reinsertion of part of his skull.
John was in a coma for 13 days but woke up and today is on the road to recovery.
“They couldn’t believe that Ryan was alive and first of all that he could see and that he got up out of the bed and was walking and talking,” said Hunt.
John says he had a near death experience.
“The feeling of death was probably the most peaceful feeling you’ll ever get. I don’t really fear death after what happened.”
Hunt says her son’s life was just beginning and the attack has left him lifelong physical and emotional scars. She’s happy he’s alive to share his story.
“I keep an eye on Ryan closely,” said Hunt. “He has the most positive attitude ever. He’s out an about in Prince Albert again, and if you see him, just say hi to him.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.