Football player, parents remember lightning strike

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By Dal Cannady - bio | email

PEMBROKE, GA (WTOC) - Catastrophic lightning strikes in Atlanta and Brunswick this week leave a Bryan County family even more thankful. Dalton Raulerson still doesn't remember the bolt that almost killed him at Pinewood Christian Academy football practice last August.

"At first they said I'd been struck by lightning. But I didn't believe them at that point. All my friends started saying the same thing so I guessed it was true," the 15-year-old said with a shrug.

The bolt went undetected by lightning monitors next to the Patriots' practice field. The coaching staff instantly rushed other players to safety and began CPR until an ambulance arrived. They continued even after Dalton's pulse stopped. He spent days in a coma but left the hospital in a matter of weeks.

Since then, he underwent respiratory therapy to strengthen the lungs that collapsed from the impact. He also went through surgery to his right ear to repair his ear drum. He's now recovered 75 percent of his hearing in that ear. Beyond that, he looks and acts like any other teenage boy.

His mom, Tonya, kept the socks and cleats that show the burn holes, as well as the practice jersey with partially melted numbers.

Dalton sat through the gridiron season but recovered enough to play basketball, then baseball for Pinewood. But Tonya says football this fall could be tougher on her than it is on him.

"Not because of football, because football had nothing to do with his injuries, but because that's what he was doing when it happened," she explained.

"Plus this time of year seems like you've got more lightning," added his father, Lawrence.

But Dalton is eager to return after his team and his school dedicated the season to him. In typical teenager fashion, Dalton's still trying to figure out what all the fuss was about.

"When I went to the games and they were hugging me, I asked what are you hugging me for. I didn't do anything," he chuckled.

His parents disagree. Dalton's ordeal drew attention and well wishes from around the state and beyond and reminded many of the frailty of life.

"When people meet us, they sometimes ask if we're the parents with the boy that was struck by lightning," Lawrence detailed. "They'll ask how he's doing. If he's standing there and I point to him, their eyes get big and they want to shake his hand."

It also left Dalton with a message for those well wishers he may never meet.

"Thanks for praying for me, it really helped me a lot and thanks to the coaches who saved my life," Dalton said in a voice thick with emotion.

August 13 will mark the one year anniversary from the lightning strike. Dalton and his parents said they'll breathe a sigh of relief when that day comes and goes.