Marco Island, Florida. This fall, 17-year-old Walker Bethune is going to be a senior at Stratford Academy in Macon, Georgia.
Recently, Walker and his family traveled to Marco Island in Florida to enjoy some days of vacation together.
One afternoon while Walker was out on a beach along with his loved ones, he somehow got struck by lightning.
“As you may already be aware, while enjoying a vacation day at the beach in Marco Island, FL, Walker was struck by lightning approximately 3 feet from us,” his family explained on a CaringBridge page.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Walker
“Thanks to attending Stratford Academy’s recent Coach and Faculty CPR certification class, David was able to immediately assess the situation and begin CPR until EMS arrived.”
“Walker was taken by emergency vehicle to Naples, where he was stabilized awaiting weather clearance for helicopter life flight to University of Miami Health, Jackson Memorial Ryder Burn & Trauma Center.”
“He is under the continued care of the Trauma Team, as well as a team of physicians across many specialties in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in the Holtz Children’s Hospital of Jackson Memorial.”
Walker is still currently in critical condition, though he is stable. He also is on a ventilator and his medical team is keeping his body cold so that he can better heal.
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Facebook; pictured above is a post from Walker’s school
In the latest update shared by his family yesterday, they said, “The outpouring of love towards Walker has been a stand-alone miracle.”
“As we continue to process the medical information, the uncertainty out numbers the finite. The road will be long and the path will be challenging.”
“The neurology team wants more time to assess his physical responses as his sedatives are reduced. We are still faith-strong over the next few days, weeks, etc… to continue the progress towards recovery.”
There is a GoFundMe that has been created to help cover Walker’s medical bills which you can donate to here.