One-year-old Kimberly Gordon was born under the most unusual circumstances. She was delivered last year by emergency C-section after her mother was struck by lightning in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Surprisingly, the miracle baby survived the electrical jolt, but with consequences – she now has the most adorable static hair that stands perfectly straight.
The bizarre event took place on July 4 last year, when Ian Gordon and his 38-weeks pregnant girlfriend Kendra Villanueva were outdoors watching the Independance Day fireworks. It began to rain and a thunderstorm soon followed, and the couple were forced to run for cover. As they passed under a tree, both of them were struck by lightning, knocking them out instantly.
According to Ian, the lightning traveled through his ears, jumped to Kendra’s body and left through her thumb. “They were both awake and looking at us,” said Lt. Ryan Perry of the Albuquerque Fire Department, who had rushed to their rescue. “But we knew that there was underlying injuries that we possibly couldn’t see that we needed to treat quickly and get them to the hospital.”
The couple was immediately rushed to the ER at University of New Mexico Hospital, where doctors decided to induce labor two weeks short of the due date. “Everybody we’ve seen says it’s a miracle she’s alive,” said Ian. “She’s just kind of a play-it-by ear baby.”
Although she was born healthy, Kimberly does have neurological damage because she was exposed to lightning in her mother’s womb. In the first six months, Ian says that she had a lot of trouble sleeping. Even today, she can’t sit up or digest food very well.
“It’s hard seeing she can’t eat like she’s supposed to and can’t have food yet, just through the tube,” said Kendra. “But other than that I’m glad she lived through it all.” Kimberly’s doctors aren’t sure when she might walk or talk, but they’re still amazed that she could survive such a shock. It’s incredibly rare – of the 11 pregnant women who were ever struck by lightning, only half the number of babies survived.
“Somebody’s definitely watching out for us,” said Ian. He now calls his daughter ‘Little Flash Gordon’ after the 1930s comic book hero.
