SASKATOON — The Scott family is grappling with the devastating loss of 19-year-old Nicholas (Nick) Scott who was shot and killed May 27 in Lloydminster, Sask. Despite the heart-wrenching circumstances, they are finding solace in the knowledge that Nick will be saving the lives of eight individuals through organ donation.
Nicholas, described as a bright and kind-hearted young man, tragically lost his life following a verbal altercation that escalated unexpectedly.
“Our tragic loss of a 19-year-old bright young man who was healthy as an ox has turned from our nightmare into the miracle of eight other families who are going to be recipients of Nicholas’s healthy and strong organs,” his aunt, Toni Bernard told SaskToday.ca in a phone interview Thursday morning.
Bernard said that all of Nicholas’s family would be at his bedside in a Saskatoon hospital until he was taken into the operating room Thursday night and his organs removed.
“Nicholas wouldn’t have had it any other way,” she said. “He was the biggest-hearted and kindest young man who loved people. He had heart. The number one most important thing to Nicholas in his life was always first and foremost his family. The Scott family, we’re a very, very tight-knit family and that extended even more deeply to my brother Jordy’s immediate family, his wife of 30 plus years, and their other surviving three children.
“Nick, he always wanted to help," added Bernard. "He was always concerned about his family. Asking them questions ‘how are you?’ checking in with his cousins and family members. He was always checking, always taking care of his brothers and sister. The most important thing to him was his brothers and sister. He was super close to his dad and wanted to be just like him. He was super close with his mom. He was a momma’s boy.”
Bernard said that Nicholas was pronounced deceased on Tuesday morning but is being kept on life support until his organs are taken Thursday evening.
Bernard said the organ donor organization has told them they found eight matches for all of his organs. His heart is going to Nova Scotia and she said later this evening they will find out where the rest of his organs are going.
Helping eight other people gives the Scott family some solace.
“It is definitely something that as Nick’s immediate family we are trying to grasp at and hold on to the fact that this tragedy has had a positive impact on eight other families,” said Bernard. “This is something positive we are able to share among ourselves and with our other family and friends who have been communicating with us. Out of all this bad for us there is some good for others. So that is a little bit of positivity. A little bit of light in this darkness. We have something positive to talk about.
Bernard has started a gofundme for funeral expenses. She said Nicholas’s family aren't in a financial position to pay for a funeral that Nicholas deserves.
She said there has been confusion because the RCMP media release said he wasn't yet pronounced deceased.
“Nick, he was pronounced dead. He had zero brain activity. He has already crossed the bridge and he is doing one heroic last act to help as many other people as he can. And my family was ecstatic when we got the news this morning that the organ donation association was able to find all eight viable matches for his strong healthy organs. It is absolutely amazing. Our tragedy is eight other families' miracle.
“My brother is a hard-working guy who started his family young but he stepped up and did what he had to do and had four children. My brother has been the guy to go out and provide for his family. Unfortunately, none of us on Nicholas’s paternal or maternal side of the family are rich people. So, this is where the GoFundMe has come into play, to allow them to give a proper funeral for Nick. It’s not what we can afford but what this young hero who was an organ donor deserves. He deserves the best. He deserves the utmost respect and love because this was a tragic incident that should have resulted in young guys with a couple black eyes.
“We have been very tired,” she added. “We have been spending a lot of time at the bedside of his body. We are aware that he is no longer there but until tonight when my nephew is rolled into the OR, he has been constantly surrounded by his grandmother, brothers, sisters, cousins, best friends and myself. We haven’t left his side until he has done his final trip to the OR, which is tonight."
Click here to contribute to the gofundme for funeral expenses.
This story has been updated to indicate Toni Bernard described the shooting as an incident, not an accident. Further, some comments have been removed as the manner of Nick Scott's death is before the courts.
