News

Actions

15-year-old lightning victim speaks for first time on surving a direct hit & what really saved him

Posted at 6:35 PM, Jul 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-26 01:45:19-04
Cameron Poimboeuf is speaking for the first time after being struck by lightning.
 
He and his mom just got back home to North Carolina after leaving Tampa General late Sunday. 
 
"I am still a little bit dizzy, but it is a lot better," said Poimboeuf. 
 
The 15 year old spent nearly a week in the ICU.
 
"They said I was hit by lightning in the back," said Poimboeuf.
 
And also through the leg. The force was so strong he was unresponsive for three days before finally waking up surrounded by family.
 
"Everyone was standing there looking at me. I was trying to figure out if I was hurting or anything, but my body was pretty much numb,"  said Poimboeuf. 
 
He couldn't move and couldn't remember what happened days before.
 
What he does remember is that he and his friend Jansen Tabor were playing Pokemon Go on Sand Key Beach.
 
He was engrossed in this video game phenomena when he said, "It was just really dark, I was on my phone and everything went black."
 
Jamsen also took a direct hit to the leg, but Cameron got the worst of it. His heart stopped.
 
His mother telling us three Good Samaritans, including a nurse, and then EMS crews worked on her son for half an hour
 
"I can't believe that he is able to walk and talk,"  said Karen Poimboeuf. 
 
That's because her son's initial prognosis was not good. Doctors revealed dismal stats that many lightning victims suffer lifelong neurological damage.
 
 "We were also told from the cardiologist it was the level of expert CPR that he got that made the difference. They did not give up after minutes of CPR, that they kept working and kept working and kept working," said Karen  Poimboeuf
 
Cameron says he's about 70 percent, but getting better 
 
Doctors are still looking at long term cognitive functions, eye issues and nerve damage.