A husband and wife walking on the West Orange Trail in Winter Haven were struck by lightning on the evening of Sept. 2, an incident that left the husband disoriented on the ground and his wife unconscious until bystanders intervened with CPR, according to an account the couple gave to Fox News Digital.
Aaron Walenga, 48, and his wife, Clare, 43, had dropped their three children off at a weekly church youth group and were using the evening as their regular date night. After dinner, they went for their usual walk along the trail when a storm moved in quickly and lightning struck them without warning.
“I couldn’t move the way I wanted to,” Aaron said. “I’m trying to get up. I am trying to get to Clare … I’m trying to talk, and I’m not really able to.”
Aaron said his first assumption after regaining awareness was that the couple had been hit by a car. “Getting struck by lightning is nothing that would even enter our minds,” he said.
Police bodycam footage shows Aaron paralyzed on the ground while bystanders and first responders worked on Clare, who was unconscious. Four bystanders reportedly rushed to help, called 911 and performed CPR on Clare before emergency responders arrived about 10 minutes later. Witnesses told Clare she had turned blue and stopped breathing for three to four minutes.
“I like to talk about the amount of bravery that they showed . . . they could see the fence beside them that lit up,” Aaron said. “It was a big moment to turn around and then go, ‘Hey, I think we need to go that direction.’ And they did.”
A hospital evaluation found Aaron had suffered fractured eye sockets, a broken nose, damaged teeth, facial cuts and burns on his hand and wrists, where he had been holding an umbrella and wearing an Apple Watch. Both Aaron and Clare were found to have suffered brain bleeds, and Clare also sustained heart damage. The couple said follow-up exams two days later showed no remaining brain bleed damage and that Clare’s heart condition had resolved.
“We’re just seeing miracle after miracle and just too many divine things in this unfortunate circumstance to not be noted,” Clare said.
Clare experienced intermittent memory loss after the strike but said her memory returned fully within about two days. “God’s not done with me yet,” she said.
In the aftermath, the family said their local church and neighborhood have provided extensive support, including a pastor who helped get their children home safely the night of the strike, and neighbors who have taken over yard and pool maintenance without being asked.
“It’s very humbling to know that people out there really care for you, and to see the church the way it’s supposed to be, where it’s not just in a building,” Aaron said. “It’s really the people that are around you, and it’s been amazing to watch.”
The couple said they have since built a relationship with the bystanders who helped them and plan to return to the trail in a few weeks. Throughout the ordeal, they said their faith kept them from despair.
“We’ve never asked ‘Why me?'” Aaron said. “We never got upset, we never felt hopeless. We really felt like even though it was a hard situation . . . God’s been with us and there’s a purpose behind it.”
