Shot 7 times in Quebec City mosque attack, survivor fights to reclaim his life

It's a Saturday afternoon, andAymen Derbali is watching from the bleachers with other parents as his son plays soccer on the pitch below.

The boys' voices echo in the indoor sportsplexas they run back and forth, the green team chasing the red team, the red teamchasing the green.

Nine-year-oldAyoubDerbaligets a pass in front of the net and uses a bit of fancy footwork to get by his defender and score a goal.

His father beams, liftinghis hands to clap. But he can't.

Derbali, 41,was shot seven times on Jan. 29, 2017, the night of the attackon the mosque in the Quebec City suburb of Sainte-Foy. He took a bullet in the chin, in his spinal cord, his feet.One just missedhis heart.

Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder in the shooting. Histrial is set to begin in Quebec City on March 26.

Derbalimet the gunman's eyes, deliberately trying to make himself a target, so that others who had been praying nearbywould escape the bullets.

He is now a quadriplegic,paralyzed from the chest down. He can only move his head, arms and hands. He gets around in an electric wheelchair.

Ayoub's soccer game was the first Derbalihad been able to attend in months. When his sonrealized he was there, he excitedly informed his coach that his dad was back.

When Ayoub visited his father for the first time after Derbali woke up from his coma, soccer was the only thing Ayoub wanted to talk about. It is one of the ties that bind father and son.

"I tell him, 'Ayoub, we must always hold on to hope. If we don't have some things, we have others. We lose things, but we can gain them too.'"

Tears well up in his eyes, and Derbalistrugglesto wipe them away.

His wife, Nedra Zahouani, steps in with a tissue.

The importance of home

Zahouani has been Derbali's rock.

At the hospital, after the shooting, doctors didn't think Derbali would make it, and they gave his wife the option of pulling the plug on him.

But she refused to give up on him.

Derbaliwas kept in a medically induced coma for two months, and Zahaoui stayed by his side 12 hours a day.

He now lives ata rehabilitation centre not far from the mosque where he was gunned down.

His main goal is to return home and live with his wife, his sons Ayoub andYoussouf, five, and his 22-month-old daughter Maryem.

He and his family have received about $150,000 from the Quebec government and through donations, but the government's victims compensation fund won't cover the cost of buying a home and adapting it to his needs.

To that end, a crowdfunding campaignin his honour has raised more than $280,000 so far.

Even when Derbaliis able toreturn home, the family will faceother challenges.

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Youssouf is severely autistic and requires round-the-clock care.

Before the shooting, he and Zahouaniwould share thatresponsibility, taking turns stepping in if Youssouftried to hurt himself. That's no longer the case.

"I feel bitter;I feel powerless when I can't move, when I can't get myself out of my chair," Derbali says. "I have to call my wife when he's right beside me, because I can't stop him."

The local social services agency has provided the family with some home-care support for Youssoufsince the shooting, but still,Zahouaniis exhaustedtrying to juggle everything, he said.

Shot 7 times in mosque attack, Aymen Derbali fights to reclaim his life

7 years ago

Duration 3:02

Aymen Derbali is determined to rebuild his life with his young family.

Regaining his strength

It's lunchtime at the rehabilitation centre.

A staff member straps a fork to Derbali'sleft hand so he can eat, then cuts the food up, squeezes some lemon on the fishand arranges the dishes on the tray.

His hand shakes as he lifts each forkful of foodto his mouth.

Still, it's an improvement.When he arrived at the centre last July, he couldn't move his hands or fingers at all.

His days are mapped out for him meetings with a social worker, apsychologist, and physiotherapy and occupational therapysessions. It's those last twohe finds the most important.

"They help me regain a bit of autonomy," he said.

After lunch, Derbaliis off to see his physiotherapist, Nathalie Roberge. During their near-daily sessions, they work on his balance, flexibility and muscle tone.

He is still in excruciating pain, but he sayshe's recovered a lot of his physical strength.

When it comes to his psychological strength, it's all in the thoughts, he explained.

"When I think positively, I put things into perspective. It's true those thoughts take me back to images of the past, when I was playing soccer with my son, and it's true I can't do that and it hurts, but at the same times I say, 'OK, I can see my kids, they can see me, I'm still here, alive.'"

Spiritual rehabilitation

Every Friday, Derbali goes to the place he almost died, the place where his life was forever changed, to pray. It was one of the first things he asked to do be allowed to return to the mosque.

His physiotherapist has found that he is more relaxed after prayers. Praying helps him cope with the pain.

Despite the horror of what he lived through, the mosque remainsan important place for him. He wants his new home to be close by.

"There are people who would want to run from a place where they had an accident or where there was an attack. They want to flee, they want to forget it," he says.

"That's not the case for me at all. I want to return often, pray at the mosque as usual, see my friends, so life goes on."

His faith, he says, was never shaken.

The future

Derbali will be living at the rehab centre until June. After that, he's hopinghis new house will be ready.

"I could help my kids with their homework. In the future, I could help them learn to drive," he said.

He has two MBAs and plans to eventually start working again as an IT specialist.

Derbali, who is originally from Tunisia, has been living in Quebec since 2001. He has no intentionof leaving.

Doctors here helped give him a second chance at life, and he will build on the life he's made for himself and his family here.

Many believe Derbalisaved lives on Jan. 29, 2017, but he eschews the word hero.

When he replays the sights and sounds of the shooting rampage in his mind, he always thinkshe could have done more.

"I would be ashamed for the rest of my life if I had thought about fleeing and leaving the others," he said.

With difficulty, he lifts his hand to his face,and he weeps.

This story is part ofCBC's in-depth look at the aftermath of the shooting at themosquein Quebec City one year ago.CBCwill also havespecialcoverageof the commemorative eventsonMonday, Jan. 29, includingliveradio, TV and online broadcasts.