CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Monday marks four years since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting claimed the lives of 17 people.
7News spoke with the family of one of the victims who shared how they’re coping on this agonizing anniversary.
Being in the water was where Nick Dworet belonged.
He dreamed of going to the Olympics. His times in the 50-meter and 100-meter were impressive and inching closer to within qualifying range.
“Just really happy in all aspects of life, he really was,” said Annika Dworet, Nick’s mother. “He didn’t worry about things, he loved his girlfriend, he showed that to everyone everywhere. He was training harder than ever.”
His dedication earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Indianapolis. Feb. 4th, 2018 was signing day.
It was a happy day for him and his family. Just 10 days later, everything changed.
“The pain is still like when we found out,” said Annika. “I don’t think it will ever go away.”
Four years ago, Nick and 16 others were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The Dworets’ other son, Alex, a freshman at the time, was also shot.
“Almost lost both my sons,” said Nick’s father, Mitch Dworet. “We were heavily impacted as a family.”
This family shied away from the cameras after the tragedy and chose to mourn and grieve privately.
“It’s very difficult. You can’t really move on, you learn to live with it.”
“I think we still have anger and we might always have anger, you know: why did this happen to us?” Annika said.
“It’s a righteous anger. That’s how I call it,” Mitch said.
The Dworets attend trauma therapy, which has given them tools to help with the process.
“Different things trigger us,” Mitch said. “Seeing a young family, sometimes. It was a reminder of how happy we were, but it was destroyed at that time, so you reevaluate, and we have to regroup, to cope.”
Part of coping is the book “Soul of a Swimmer.” Their son’s life was memorialized for others to read about his amazing journey as a champion swimmer.
“I knew he was a swimmer,” said author Carla Albano. “I knew he was a good swimmer, but I learned about his character.”
Albano, also a swimmer, said she felt a connection with Nick and didn’t even know him.
She dedicated two years of her life interviewing his friends, coaches, girlfriend and parents to write this book.
“We actually got to learn a lot of things that we didn’t know,” Annika said.
“Very cathartic and her wanting to do something like this to honor our son and put it on paper,” Mitch said. “She put her heart and soul in it too. Nick impacted her.”
And Nick continues to impact others.
One hundred percent of the book’s proceeds are donated to the Nicholas Dworet Memorial Trust.
The family gives out three scholarships in their son’s name each year and Swim for Nick events have become popular across the country.
For the Dworets, four years later, they are relearning how to live without bitterness, with love and trying to live just like Nick.
“Nick was all about love and kindness. He was a humble guy,” Mitch said. “He was a wonderful boy, and I know that love and kindness is a really good way to be.”
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