STRATFORD, WA. -- A Grant County Sheriff's Deputy shot in the back while hunting is recovering from a bullet that instantly changed his life, and claims he saw his accused shooter pointing a rifle at him minutes before being shot.

Dan Jackson, KREM.com

Earl and Tami Romig at their home in Stratford, WA.

"I did see the guy before," recalled Earl Romig, recovering from the shooting at his home in Stratford. "I didn't talk to him. He was about 100-yards away. He raised his rifle at me and looked through his scope."

The shooting happened on the evening of January 10, West of Soap Lake where Romig was hunting in his off-time.

After hunting for about 30 minutes, Romig said he recognized the shooter as that same man who took aim at him shortly after he had arrived in the area.

This time however, Romig said he heard the buzz of a bullet as it snapped inside of him.

"All of a sudden it sounded like a bee coming towards me," said Romig. "A split second later I felt this excruiciating pain. It just locked me up and it was almost like my ears were ringing and then I heard the gunshot and I fell down."

Romig said his mind immediately flashed back to his first encounter with the shooter.

"I thought maybe I just walked into something. This guy is out here, maybe he'd already killed somebody or something else had happened," said Romig. "I thought I was just going to be next on the list to be killed."

In terrible pain, Romig said he fumbled for his rifle and through his scope spotted the accused shooter, Robbie Joe Marcher.

Still bleeding, Romig crawled 20-yards through the snow to find cover and prepare for a gunbattle that would never happen.

"I knew that a second shot was probably gonna come pretty soon," said Romig.

Dan Jackson, KREM.com

While laying in the snow and praying that he would live, Romig said he heard the shooter's truck leave, and became angry.

"I was most mad at the fact that he left me there," said Romig. "But I was also mad at the fact that I'd been shot and I didn't shoot back."

Thinking he'd been shot in the leg, Romig felt a hole in his stomach, but didn't know he'd been shot in the back.

Eventually, Romig fired his rifle above the head of a nearby hiker, who called 911 and allowed Romig to speak to the Grant County dispatcher. She recognized him by his badge number, and comforted him while they waited for paramedics.

During that time, Romig gave a description of the shooter, and recorded his final goodbye to his fiance Tami, in case he did not make it.

Tami and Earl got married at Harborview Medical Center, but still she can't bring herself to hear the goodbye call her husband made that day.

"I haven't listened to it. But I can, I just chose not to...yet. I might someday," said Tami.

After four weeks in the hospital, Romig has returned home. During his interrupted career as a Sheriff's Deputy, Romig was used to helping others. Now, has to rely on others to take care of him.

"It's the complete opposite," said Romig. "I've got to rely on people to help me everyday, to get dressed, to get out of bed."

Tami has become his personal nurse, getting proper training so her new husband could come home from the hospital sooner.

Tami has become Earl's personal nurse, helping with medications during his recovery at home.

Still, the much-needed sleep that Romig requires is not always easy to get. Bullet-shattered nerves often scream inside his body.

"Some nights he just cries and lays there and struggles to keep his eyes open just because he can't handle it," said Tami. "That's really hard for me."

"Sometimes it gets that bad, I do sit and cry," agreed Romig.

But Romig said he gets great strength from Tami and his family, and his thoughts are now far from the man who shot him.

"That's not my fight right now," said Romig. "My fight right now is to get better, I want to walk again, I want to do all the things I did before."