Boynton Beach Teen Who Survived a Lightning Strike Thanks the Rescuers Who Saved Him
Kevin Sosa, 14, was playing soccer on Aug. 23 when lightning stopped his heart. On Oct. 28 he returned to Delray Medical Center to thank the deputies, paramedics, nurses and doctors who brought him back, the Palm Beach Post reported.
DELRAY BEACH — Kevin Sosa was playing soccer on Aug. 23 when a lightning bolt tore through his favorite Lionel Messi jersey, left his matching cleats charred and stopped his heart, the Palm Beach Post reported. The Boynton Beach teenager survived, celebrated his 14th birthday at Delray Medical Center, and returned there on Oct. 28 to thank the deputies, paramedics, nurses and doctors who saved him. "Thank you for saving my life," Kevin told them, the Post reported. "I'm going to play soccer when I get home."
The rescue was a chain that held at every link. Kevin's father, Roberto Sosa, began chest compressions on the neighborhood field near Boynton Beach, and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputy Claudia Abreu-Perez arrived shortly after, took over CPR and found Kevin's pulse about four minutes later, according to the Post. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue paramedics arrived six minutes after the 911 call, inserted a breathing tube and rushed him to Delray Medical Center, where Dr. Angela Jones, who treated him in intensive care, said the early CPR was crucial to his recovery.
Kevin came to intensive care stable but unconscious, with cardiac damage and neurological dysfunction, and recovered slowly, the Post reported. He had just started his freshman year at Boynton Beach High School before the strike and will be homeschooled while he continues therapy; a GoFundMe set up by his family has raised over $5,000 for his recovery. "Respect nature," his father said, in the Post's account of a family that now pays closer attention to the weather — a Florida lesson his son's story carries to every family on a sideline this fall.
