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JANESVILLE, Wis. (WMTV) – Following a week of severe weather across Wisconsin, four golfers experienced one of mother nature’s rarest occurrences, and lived to tell the tale.
Tim Hantke and his son Jackson say they never expected a tee time to turn dangerous in a flash. But that’s what happened on Aug. 10.
The father and son, plus Tim’s uncle and cousin, went golfing at Big Fish Golf Course in Hayward. As Jackson was teeing up at the fifth hole, lightning struck all four golfers.
“I heard one crack and then I woke up on the ground,” Tim explained. “I was in pain… I couldn’t breath. It was the worst feeling I ever had.”
The group was tracking a storm an hour away, but besides overcast weather, they had little indication lightning would strike.
Several crews responded to the course to help. The golfers were taken to a local hospital, but Tim and his cousin were later transferred to Minnesota for specialized care.
“It just doesn’t happen. Both hospitals I went to said [they had] never treated a lightning strike patient,” Tim said.
According to the CDC, the odds of being struck by lightning are around 1 in 500,000.
Now taking it easy at home, doctors are monitoring Tim’s heart. His cousin and uncle suffered vision issues, and his son has leg pain.
“When they came home I’ve never been so happy to see their faces after such a terrible week,” said Heather Jones, Tim’s sister. “Just hug your family tight. You never know what’s going to happen in a blink of an eye.”
All things considered, Tim’s spirits are high. He’s hoping to receive a positive prognosis from the doctor at the end of the week, and return to work by the weekend. He’s not rushing back to the golf course, however.
“If it’s cloudy out, I ain’t doing nothing outside,” he said.
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