Original Event Information

 This is where Mark (Matthew's Dad) will post updates on Matthew's recovery from his lightning strike injury on 30 June 2023 about 7:20 pm on their Woolly Bee Farm in Wamego, KS

Matthew and Jen were strolling out to a flower bed where Jen had worked that Friday afternoon.  Lightning struck about 3ft left of Matthew, with perhaps a streamer entering his left side.  His body appears to have protected Jen from electricity.  However, the shock pressure was great enough to knock Jen unconscious as well.  Shortly after, Jen woke up and called for Matthew to help her.  He was laying on the ground next to her with all his clothes and boots blown off his body.

Matthew had no pulse.  Jen started CPR and called 911 shouting into the phone while pumping Matthew's chest.

Local, volunteer EMT shows up, and they get him to the local Wamego clinic/limited ER.  Matthew had a pulse, but too fast of rate.  They shocked him once to get a regular heartbeat.

Originally, the plan was to life flight him to Wichita, KS.  Weather storms were bad, not conducive to flying a helicopter. Matthew was loaded into an ambulance and traveled to Topeka, Stormont Vail Hospital , a Trauma 2 ICU.

Family and Friends of Matt & Jen immediately jumped into support mode for Matt, Jen, Children Cade (10), June (7, now 8), and  Clare (4), and their Woolly Bee Farm animals.

Treatment at the ICU focused on maintaining vital life functions while trying to understand the damages done.  Jen was checked out by the Stormont Vail ER staff.  Jen was mostly Okay, but suffering from some headaches and ringing in her left ear.

Matthew was mostly in a medically induced coma and was immediately placed in a body cooling wrap to reduce swelling due to trauma of his internal organs.  The sedation was provided to help with possible pain, and to prevent him from being tortured by the body cooling wrap.  The body cooling wrap is analogous to placing an ice pack on an injury to your arms or legs.

In initial CT scans indicated some significant shredding of some of his liver, but it was no longer bleeding so surgery was not indicated.

Before sedation, Matthew COULD respond to instructions to move a limb, or squeeze a hand.  This is important to remember because in a few days this ability would decline significantly.  More on this in a later post.

Matthew had multiple lacerations at several places, several bruises, and several burned skin areas.  Wound care was started over the weekend.

Several ports were placed in veins on both sides of his neck, for taking blood samples for lab testing and for getting ready to start dialysis.  A Naso-Gastric Tube system was installed to provide food to his stomach and a ventilation system for his lungs.   Continuous EKG monitoring was also started.  (Interestingly, subsequent to the initial shock to stabilize his heartbeat, there appears to be no problems with his heart functioning normally).

Word of the event was distributed to extended families of Campbell's and Porter's.