Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Rose Matzelle, 17, struggles with emotional issues and says school is tough.
CHIPPEWA LAKE, Ohio (AP) -- A bald spot on her head and burn scars along her back and legs are constant reminders of the near-fatal lightning strike to Rose Matzelle in May.
But the Buckeye High School junior says she doesn't remember much about the jolt in her school parking lot that burned her, broke her ribs and left her unable to breathe.
"I used to like to watch it rain and watch the lightning over the lake," she said while sitting in her living room, Christmas lights glowing behind her. "But not anymore."
It was storming on the afternoon of May 10 when Rose, 17, was walking between two teachers through the parking lot at the high school in Medina, about 30 miles southwest of Cleveland.
First, the lightning hit the metal awning outside the exit door. It then struck Rose, traveling into her head, down her back, along her legs and out through her feet. The force was so strong, it blew off her clothes and sandals, and a metal hair clip was fused to her head.
Everyone works together
Teachers carried the girl to the boy's locker room where the school's sports trainer started to resuscitate her. Members of the boys baseball team collected towels to help raise Rose's body temperature, which had dropped because blood had stopped flowing through her body.
"Everything was in place that day," said Rose's mother, Marty Matzelle.
The Matzelle family rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where Rose was flown by helicopter and spent seven days in the burn unit.
Her father, Phil Matzelle, said with tears in his eyes that the ride was "the length of the rosary."
Rose was weak and spent the summer at home. She says school is harder now and she has difficulty with sports that used to be easy for her.
And she's had counseling for emotional issues.
A recent storm frightened her. "I wanted to go to my parents' room, but I was afraid to move. So I just laid there and cried," she said.
Michael Utley, founder of www.struckbylightning.org, said 90 percent of people struck by an indirect bolt survive but have long-term health concerns, because of brain damage.
The long-term health affects of the lightning strike on Rose are not known.
Utley said between 800 and 1,000 Americans are struck every year.
It's rare that anyone survives a direct hit. But the number of deaths has dropped, primarily because more people are aware of the dangers.
Rose and her family say the ordeal has made them extremely grateful to be celebrating the holidays together. They believe Rose's survival is a miracle.
"It's a blessing," Marty Matzelle said. "We just haven't figured out what God wants us to do with it."