“I’m lucky to be alive”

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Florida. – A Florida teenager is reporting his miraculous survival after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm Monday night.

“It came right through the tree,” said 17-year-old Daniel Sharkey from his hospital bed at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Sharkey was working in the yard when the storm swept through Seminole County. Ring doorbell footage captured the moments after the storm, showing Sharkey lying on the ground as neighbors rushed to his aid.

Lightning can strike miles away from a storm, so even if the rain didn’t reach you, that doesn’t mean you’re safe. Thankfully, Sharkey survived the ordeal, although he’s still in pain.

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“My chest hurts and everything hurts,” Sharkey said. Despite his injuries, he is glad to be alive. “I couldn’t scream – at least I don’t think I made any noise.”

Sharkey was standing near a tree in his yard that was struck by lightning shortly before 5 p.m. on Monday. He believes that this tree saved his life.

“If it had been a direct hit, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I was lucky that the tree was there,” he said.

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Sharkey, who runs a lawn mowing business, was weeding a neighbor’s yard when he saw the storm approaching but figured he had plenty of time before he had to go inside.

“I saw a storm was coming. There was thunder and lightning, so I thought I had time. I was pretty sure I could make it because we have a siren that goes off when there’s lightning, but it hadn’t gone off yet,” Sharkey said.

Suddenly Sharkey could no longer move.

“I couldn’t move any of my extremities… it felt like I had static electricity… everything was tingling, like my hands and arms were asleep,” he said.

Chadwick Smith, a trauma and burn surgeon, warned of the serious effects lightning strikes can have.

“It can be fatal; it can cause abnormal heart rhythms that require defibrillation. It can cause nerve problems, burns and later vision problems,” Smith said.

Sharkey is currently recovering in the company of his parents and says he is determined to get back to work.

“It was pure coincidence. The chance of being struck by lightning is one in a million and the chance of survival is not 100 percent. Fortunately the tree was there and I’m lucky to be alive,” he said.

Sharkey is expected to be released from the hospital either late Tuesday or Wednesday.