Massachusetts woman who survived lightning strike at Boston beach returns home
By Russ Reed
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BOSTON (WCVB) — A Massachusetts woman who works as a nurse is back home less than three months after she was struck by lightning while walking on a Boston beach.
Thalita Teixeira Padilla, a travel nurse, was released from in-patient care at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital on Thursday.
Padilla, 31, was walking her dog, Bruce, along Savin Hill Beach in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood on the afternoon of Sept. 9 when she was struck by lightning.
She was thrown onto the beach and was unresponsive. Witnesses called 911 and a nurse began performing CPR before Boston Emergency Medical Services personnel and state troopers arrived.
According to her family, Padilla’s doctor said she died from the lightning strike but was resuscitated thanks to the nurse who performed CPR at the scene.
“She died and then, the family was correct with the fact that that nurse was next to her is just amazing because she would have died,” said Dr. Tracey Dechert, chief of acute care and trauma surgery at Boston Medical Center.
Padilla spent 40 days recovering at Boston Medical Center before she was transferred to Spaulding Rehab, where she will continue to receive outpatient services.
“We want to say thank you to Spaulding Rehab for the team and staff that took care of Thalita,” reads a statement from Padilla’s family. “We are beyond grateful for the extraordinary care she received during her stay. Although she may still have a tough journey ahead towards recovery, her team made sure she took her first steps towards it.”
Padilla and her family hope to meet the nurse who performed CPR on Thalita at the beach and helped save her life.
Padilla’s dog ran off after the lightning strike, but Bruce was later found and eventually reunited with Padilla and her husband. Bruce was allowed to visit Padilla during her stay at Boston Medical Center.
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