Demski feeling blessed with arrival of daughter

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This article was published 05/07/2023 (800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nic Demski was packing his bags for last weekend’s game in Montreal when his fiancee called an audible.

The newest member of the family was on its way.

“Vanessa yelled from the other room ‘Nic, I think we got to go to the hospital!’ So, it was close,” the Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver said after Wednesday’s closed practice at IG Field. “At the end of the day, I would’ve tried to rush back (if I did go to Montreal). I for sure would’ve made it considering the process and everything like that, but I wanted to be with her and by her side throughout this whole experience so it was perfect the way it ended up happening.”

It was certainly was a process for the first-time parents as Demski and Vanessa arrived at the hospital at 3 p.m. on Friday and didn’t get home until Tuesday night. Their baby girl, Raia Elizabeth, was born Monday at 3:10 a.m. at seven pounds 15 ounces.

Both the mother and baby are happy and healthy.

“It’s pretty amazing. It obviously hasn’t been too long yet, but just to have this puny little human in my hands, that probably speaks more words than anything,” said Demski.

“It’s exciting. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

The 29-year-old Demski had to phone his mom and ask her to bring her iPad to the hospital so he could watch the Bombers prevail 17-3 over the Alouettes on Saturday.

Despite missing the game, sleeping on a makeshift bed for four nights has the Winnipegger feeling just as sore as his teammates.

Demski will return to the lineup Friday night when the Bombers (3-1) host the Calgary Stampeders (1-2).

“I texted Al (Couture) our trainer and said ‘I need an appointment with our chiropractor’ because my back is something else right now,” laughed Demski. “I denied taking the elevators up there, I was taking the stairs. I was still trying to do my due diligence here and there. But as I said, it was perfect. All the left and right turns throughout this whole process, this is the way it was supposed to go. I’m just blessed… and we can’t wait to start our life together.”

Demski has spent the last several months chatting with the dads on the team for advice on balancing parenthood with professional football. One of those experts is defensive end Willie Jefferson, a fellow girl-dad.

Jefferson made it just in time to be there for his wife Holly last September for the birth of their second daughter, Rielley. As soon as the Bombers landed in Winnipeg after a road game in Hamilton, Jefferson hopped in his truck and drove straight to the hospital.

“Oh man, a first-time dad, get as much sleep as you can on the road games,” advised Jefferson. “And just be there when wifey needs you. Give her as many breaks as you can, like in the afternoon when you come home from practice and stuff like that. Spend as much time with the baby as you can away from the mom so you can spoil her and build that relationship with the baby. And you know, enjoy the time. It seems like it’s forever, but that time goes by really fast so just enjoy it.”

Demski, who’s in his eighth CFL campaign, joins quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome and defensive back Demerio Houston as players the Bombers have allowed to miss time this season to be at home to support their partner during or shortly after their child’s birth.

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Pigrome, now a free agent after getting cut last week when veteran Dakota Prukop became available, flew back to Maryland for a few days during training camp to meet his baby girl Lavani. Houston was excused for the Week 3 game against the B.C. Lions to return to North Carolina for the arrival of twins.

“The bottom line is you’re dealing with people. They are football players, but they’re people,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“No matter if they want this little bubble to stay intact with football, the world is going on around them. Their life is going on outside of football. There’s lots of stuff these people have to deal with. So, yeah, it’s the only decision.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.