Amber Escudero-Kontostathis was the only person to survive when a bolt of lightning struck four people outside of the White House earlier this month.
Now, just two weeks after the incident the 28-year-old is speaking out about her experience and her painful recovery.
“Like 10,000 grains of sand moving through a single pore, and it’s happening through my whole body from here down. That’s the worst of it at night.”
Amber was standing near the White House on August 4 trying to raise funds for refugees when a storm blew through the area. She and three others sought shelter under a nearby tree.
Moments after seeking shelter an intense bolt of lightning struck the tree along with her and the three others who were hiding from the storm.
James and Donna Mueller of Wisconsin, who were visiting to celebrate their anniversary, and 29-year-old Brooks Lambertson of Los Angeles, who was in Washington D.C. for work, all died from their injuries.
“I’m not sure why I’m the one that made it,” she told WUSA9. “I definitely have survivors’ guilt because if I were to be this lucky, I feel everyone should be.”
Amber gives some credit to her thick rubber shoes, but says the Secret Service agents and travel nurses who happened to be in the area saved her life.
“They went sprinting towards where we were and immediately started providing chest compressions and CPR,” she said. “They literally brought me back twice, no heartbeat, brought it back, nothing, 10 minutes plus and then they brought me back.”
She was kept alive long enough to make it to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the only burn center in Washington D.C., where doctors have been amazed with her recovery.
“What she went through is so rare and so often not survived, there’s no textbook chapter about what to expect after you’ve been struck by lightning,” Dr. Taryn Travis told NBC Washington.
One step at a time
As Amber continues to make incredible progress, she can’t help but think back to the night she almost lost her life.
“I’m not sure why I’m the one that made it,” she said. “I definitely have survivors’ guilt because if I were to be this lucky, I feel everyone should be.”
While pondering why she was the only one to survive, Amber said, “I’m definitely grateful and I’m not gonna waste my second chance at life.”
It is extremely important to remember not to seek shelter under a tree during a storm. I am so glad Amber survived, but completely heartbroken at the loss of three other people.
Please share to warn others of the dangers of hiding under a tree during a storm.
