Teen boy struck by lightning in soccer practice freak incident
A teenage boy who was struck by lightning while practicing soccer is fighting for his life.
Mason Schaefer was ‘playing his most favorite sport, soccer’, when he was hit by lightning last Monday, his older sister Maddy Schaefer wrote on a GoFundMe page for him.
The teen was one of two student athletes and a coach who were injured while on a field at Glacier High School in Montana as a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect.
An athletic trainer performed CPR on Mason and emergency responders and cops responded, Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Matt Jensen told the Daily Inter Lake.
Mason was placed on life support in an intensive care unit.
‘We are rooting for you, Mason!’ wrote his sister. ‘His favorite team is Real Madrid and Man City. Hala Madrid!!’
On Thursday morning, his sister in an update to the fundraiser said he was ‘stable at this time and able to squeeze our hands’.
But by Friday evening, his health took a turn for the worse and he was put back on life support.
‘Mason has had some bumps in the road the last 2 days of his recovery,’ his sister wrote. ‘We remain hopeful and are thankful for everyone’s continuing support.’
The other student and the coach were released from Logan Health Medical Center, high school Principal Brad Holloway stated on social media.
The severe thunderstorm watch was issued in northwest Montana from 3pm to 10pm on August 19. Jensen said that the campus followed storm policies.
‘In this case, the coaches followed lightning safety protocols and the emergency response was incredible,’ he wrote in a letter to the Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees.
‘We are thankful for the training and preparation of the staff and other emergency responders.’
The GoFundMe page for Mason had raised more than $62,000 as of Monday afternoon.
Mason was struck over a year after a New Jersey public works employee who was painting lines at a soccer field was hit by lightning. A police officer performed CPR on the worker within minutes and he regained consciousness in an ambulance and survived.
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