A pregnant Florida woman was struck by lightning on June 29 as she was walking with her mother.
Doctors say she was able to deliver her baby—even though she remains in intensive care.
Meghan Davidson, 26, was only seven days away from her due date when she was struck in the head by a lightning bolt as she was walking in Fort Meyers.
She was later able to deliver the baby, named Owen, WINK-TV reported.
The baby, however, was listed in critical condition, WFLA reported. She has two other children with her husband.
The McGregor Baptist Church held a prayer service for Davidson. Member Carol Bridges said she has shown some signs of improvement.
“They have lowered the amount of oxygen that she is getting and they have lowered the sedation,” Bridges said, according to CBS affiliate WGCL-TV. “I think it’s devastating, you know, you just don’t understand why some tragedy happens,” added church member Linda Kelly.
The odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are 1 in 1,083,000. Only about 10 percent of people struck by lightning are killed.
National Weather Service storm data shows that in the past 30 years, the United States averages about 47 reported lightning-related fatalities each year.
“Lightning is a major cause of storm related deaths in the U.S. A lightning strike can result in a cardiac arrest (heart stopping) at the time of the injury, although some victims may appear to have a delayed death a few days later if they are resuscitated but have suffered irreversible brain damage,” the agency says.
Friends Read Free