EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — A Utah County man was knocked unconscious after a lightning strike on Sunday.
Marcus Griffin was on a walk in Eagle Mountain with his wife and dog when a lightning bolt hit right behind him, forcing him to the ground.
“I blacked out and I woke up in the dirt," Griffin said while recovering at home. "My wife woke me up, I was face down, I’ve got multiple scratches on my hands and my knee and my face.”
Griffin says he immediately lost all feeling on the right side of his body, and as of Monday afternoon has no hearing capability from his right ear.
“I tried to stand up a couple of times, and I was not able to stand up," Griffin said.
His wife called 9-1-1 and a nearby man who saw the strike came over to help bring Griffin to his feet and carry him to a parked vehicle so he could wait for first responders to arrive.
“It felt like a really bad 'charlie horse' in all of my calves, on both sides and I couldn’t get my legs underneath me," said Griffin, who was airlifted to a local hospital.
He told FOX 13 that while in the hospital, he couldn't get his mind off of his wife and three children back home.
“I left the house saying, 'Hey, we’re going on a quick walk, we’ll be back,' and I didn’t come back,” he said.
Griffin says the doctor told him that the markings on his body were consistent with a lightning strike. Those markings were on his neck and chest, while his cuts and bruising were still visible Monday on his forehead, face, hands and knees.
“I’m alive," Marcus said with relief while speaking with FOX 13 on his front porch at home. "I’m really happy that I got to come home and see my kids today. That was a really emotional reunion for me and for them.”
Not only do Marcus and his wife Laura wish they had gotten the name of the man who ran over to help them during the hectic moments after the lightning strike, but they hope he knows how thankful they are.
“I feel pretty good considering what I went through," he said after being released from the hospital on Monday. He also wants to remind those thinking about heading out to check the weather to ensure the safest conditions to be outdoors.
