COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s currently archery season to hunt deer in Ohio, and in less than two weeks it will be gun season.
But a Galloway couple said the weapon you use shouldn't be the only safety steps you follow.
Leah Weiher and her boyfriend Mason Darnes have been together for the last few years. Mason loves hunting, and Leah wanted to do some of the things he was into, so he took her out a few times.
On Nov. 5, they went hunting at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
She said she was climbing a tree to reach a tree stand, when she slipped and fell nearly 15 feet, landing on a crossbow.
"My world turned upside down, but I'm trying to stay hopeful,” said Weiher.
Weiher said she wasn’t harnessed in.
"I was just laying there. I couldn't feel my waist down like right away,” said Weiher.
She suffered a burst fracture in her L2 vertebrae and could've severed her spinal cord. She said she now has some feeling back in her right leg.
She’s devastated because they have a nine-month-old daughter.
The couple is urging any and everyone who goes out this hunting season to always make sure you’re safe, even if you think you’re comfortable.
“This can happen to kids, to adults, brothers, fathers, it doesn't matter. You don't think it will happen to you until it does and it's devastating,” said Darnes.
The hope is for Weiher to start walking again once their daughter is able to.
In Ohio, youth deer gun season starts Nov. 18-19, and deer gun season starts Nov. 27-Dec. 3 and Dec. 16-17.
If you would like to help the couple, they’ve created a GoFundMe.