Jack Corson was gathering cattle on his ranch in rural Wyoming when he was struck directly by lightning in the summer of 2021. The strike killed the horse out from under him and threw Jack to the ground. His daughter and a ranch hand were working nearby and saw the scene unfold. They raced to Jack's side. He was in and out of consciousness and in excruciating pain.
"I felt like I put my hand in a fire, except all over my body," he said.
There was no cell phone service in the area and the group was seven miles from the closest land line at their ranch house. One of Jack's sons, who was also working nearby, drove back to the house to call 911. He returned with Jack's wife, Celia. Celia was nervous that emergency services wouldn't be able to find them. It was pouring rain and the only location she was able to give was the address of the ranch house several miles away from the scene.
To their surprise, a helicopter arrived as they were trying to get him back to the ranch house where they expected to meet a ground ambulance. The weather cleared just enough that the crew was able to fly him to Banner Wyoming Medical Center, the state's only Level II trauma center.
As a Level II trauma center, Banner Wyoming Medical Center cares for some of the most critical patients who often have multiple injuries suffered in falls, car accidents, violence and more, which often requires care from specialists from multiple disciplines across the hospital.
Two years following this harrowing incident, Jack and his family told their story.
