Jacob Brewer Lightning Survivor
Donation protected
Three years ago in Siesta Key, Florida - during what was to be a short family vacation - my son, Jacob Brewer, was struck directly by a lightning bolt. They say your chance of being struck by lightning is one in a million, and even more rare to be struck directly – something most do not survive. Jacob is one in a million and he is also a fighter! His injuries were many and extreme – he fought for his life for weeks and months in the hospital! The doctor told me I was going to lose my son but Jacob miraculously survived, for which we thank God every day.
However, Jacob’s spine and nerves were damaged, leaving his legs paralyzed. Jacob fought hard to live and now he fights every day to walk again. He has traveled the world looking for doctors and experts to help him. Jacob is fighting to walk again because this is his dream - he gets up every day with a smile on his face and ready to take on his recovery. He is truly an inspiration to so many.
We thank God that he is still with us and are so very thankful for everyone's love, prayers, and support. Please consider supporting Jacob so he can continue his fight to walk again. We would not have been able to do all we have been able to do to help Jacob without your gracious help! There are many good neuro-rehab programs, equipment, and medical treatments that are not covered by insurance. We know times are tough so if you can't support him financially, we completely understand - sharing his story and prayers, of course, are much appreciated too!
Below is the beginning of a letter dad wrote to Jacob while he was in the ICU, describing in detail what happened that afternoon:
…Jacob, the afternoon of Thursday, July 16, your life changed forever. All our lives.
We were on Siesta Key beach, two days into our summer vacation. It was sunny in the morning ... beautiful ... we had such a fun time...
In the afternoon we did see some “standard fare” Florida-afternoon-storms brewing pretty far off to our south, past the public beach...where many many people were still doing the same thing we were…
Suddenly, a new batch of dark clouds developed and started heading up the beach towards us. I thought it would behave like the other storms we'd witnessed the last couple days and would move very slowly. I thought maybe, at the most, we weren't leaving early enough to avoid getting rained on…
I was wrong ... this storm came in so, so fast ...
We packed up and were walking towards the beach access path when in the darkness of the storm there was a bright flash of a reddish-orangish light. In this half-second I saw the sand and dune-grass and buildings over the dune reflecting that light. I felt its heat on the hairs of the back of my neck and smelled the singed air. I hit the ground as the flash was accompanied instantly after by an incredible, thunderous crack.
then I looked back
and I saw the panic-stricken fear in your mother's eyes
and I heard Ashley screaming "NO NOT JACOB!! PLEASE NOT JACOB!!" - I saw her hands at her head in disbelief and pure anguish.
and then I saw you
you were on your back on the sand as the nightmare scene was seared into my mind. I started sprinting to you and desperately didn’t want to believe what I already knew: this ONE bolt of lightning in our vicinity, this FIRST bolt of lightning at the start of this storm over us had struck you. directly in the chest.
and your mom screamed out "HELP, CPR, CALL 911, HELP HELP !!!!!!!"
and the fiercest storm I've witnessed ensued ... straight-line winds .. sand blowing horizontal all around .. lightning everywhere ... everyone around was in danger.
Yet two men ran over to us ... they didn't hesitate ... they knew CPR and started on you after quickly determining you had no pulse and were not breathing ... that these two men were there was miracle number one.
and the storm raged on
All I could do in those first moments was kneel by you and hold your arm and head while these men worked...and pray over and over and over PLEASE GOD don't take my son. please don't let him die. ONLY YOU GOD IN HEAVEN HAVE THE POWER TO SAVE MY SON. ONLY YOU.
These men spent 8,9,10 minutes working on you in the middle of this fierce storm.
Later I learned that one of the men heard me praying...and it gave him some motivation to keep going, exhausted as he was...
At some point I gave some rescue breaths as well...as a lady near me was doing her best to pass along instructions over the phone...
People were yelling. “need to move!!” “does he have a pulse?!” “which path is this??” We decided to try to move up the beach-access path some, to find some sort of shelter from the storm and try to get us closer to the main road where paramedics would arrive. We lifted you and trudged a few yards but I knew this damn path was a quarter mile long and there was no close shelter and that we did NOT have time to find any and we needed to keep blood moving--
..miraculously at this very moment a police officer came running towards us - he saw us and yelled out "PUT HIM DOWN!! PUT HIM DOWN!" and we did. The officer immediately started CPR again. He did this another 5,6,7 minutes until paramedics came running down the path with a stretcher cart
we picked you up to put you on the stretcher
Jacob, your body was a heavy rag-doll ... lifeless ... you were turning purple
we ran to the ambulance
still storming. raining, hailing, windy, lightning..
The officer who did CPR found me and found my eyes and said "hey, hey, stay with me, stay with me" and motioned for me to get into the front of the ambulance.
and there we sat in the ambulance for another eternity from the previous eternity of getting you to an ambulance…
While they worked on you in the back of the ambulance I sat in the front and clenched my guts and cried to God to please spare my son, that only He had the power to do so, please God don't let him die, please bring him back to us, over and over and over...
We also learned later that the whole family of the men who started CPR also went and prayed together...
And Jacob I was in despair. deep despair. the darkest time. and I cried and raged and couldn't believe I was about to lose my son. my son. our son. Ashley's brother. her best bud. Jared's brother. I thought it had been too long. just too long. there was no way. but I kept praying. I kept praying that God would bring you back to us. That only He had the power.
Finally we started driving. The driver couldn't tell me anything - "I'm just the driver"
We got to the Sarasota hospital after a 20min drive
As they rushed you into the ER they brought me to a small room to wait ... still no one could/would tell me anything about how you were doing.
A security guard checked in on me several times. He was kind and offered a blanket and water as I stood in the cold room only in my still-wet trunks waiting to know if you were alive or not.
a detective came...
a social worker...
a chaplain...
they finally came and told me something:
that you were alive, that you had a pulse and were breathing
YOU WERE ALIVE
I exhaled and cried and thanked God, over and over and over and over
...
For the full letter text and additional updates, please also see our CaringBridge:
Organizer
Barbara Brewer
Organizer
Keller, TX