Pompano Beach lightning strike victim released from hospital

Nick Williams also survived crash that left him paralyzed

MIAMI – After 95 days in a hospital, Nick Williams is finally going home.

"It's been an uphill battle," Williams said during a news conference Thursday morning at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Williams was under a tree waiting for a storm to pass near his Pompano Beach home in August when he was struck by lightning.

On his way to the hospital, he suffered a heart attack, and it took paramedics four minutes to revive him.

Williams was in a coma at Jackson Memoiral Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center for almost a week, dealt with pneumonia, and doctors didn't know if he had permanent brain damage.

"He is, for me, a miracle," Dr. Gemayaret Alvarez-Gonzalez said.

Williams never gave up. The 28-year-old awakened from the coma and embraced a new reality -- extensive occupational, physical and speech therapy.

"His story, to have lightning strike on top of everything he's already been through, is just incredible," Dr. Nicholas Namias said.

It's another chance at life for Williams.

The then-Cardinal Gibbons High School volleyball player was injured in a crash 11 years ago that left him paralyzed from the chest down.

"He survived twice," mother Donna Pappas said.

Williams said the experiences in his life have made him say, "OK, now what?"


About the Author

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba. 

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