A GOP congressional staffer survived a tangle with a bolt of lightning near his Staten Island dentist’s office on Thursday.
Thomas Fahmy, who works for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), was walking down Todt Avenue in the Castleton Corners neighborhood — just a few steps away from his car — when lightning struck, the New York Post reported. Fahmy, who was carrying an umbrella at the time, said he felt the bolt go through him and immediately dropped to the ground.
“I was nearly 15, 20 feet away from my car when I was struck by lightning,” he told local NBC News affiliate WNBC, adding that he’d remained conscious throughout the bizarre experience. “It was a very intense burning sensation, tingling, numbness, pain. Severe pain in both of my feet.”
“That’s really a sensation I have never felt in my life,” he told another outlet, an ABC News affiliate, saying that his feet became so numb that he felt as though he was walking on balloons.
Once he’d been struck, Fahmy said that in addition to the pain and the “surreal” feeling, he was immediately concerned that he could be struck again.
“By that point, I was scared that I would be struck again by lightning,” Fahmy said. “That’s how unpredictable and really bad the weather was on that Thursday … I think it’s not luck — I think [I’m] blessed. There’s a good chance that I wouldn’t be here now, but because of grace, by grace, I’m here.”
Fahmy said he called for help from the sidewalk and managed to get the attention of a neighbor, Stefanie Homan, who said she looked outside and saw him on the ground — at which point she immediately dialed 911.
While the chances of getting struck by lightning in the first place are minimal — less than one in a million — the likelihood of survival in the rare instance of a strike is around 90%. Most people who survive a strike are left with burns on their skin, but Fahmy says he appears to be the exception.
“No burns. I had multiple body exams, no burns at all,” he told WABC. “I went [to] church Sunday to say thank you, God.”
After an uneventful night in the hospital — for observation — Fahmy was sent on his way. His luck, unfortunately, only extended to the lightning strike: a lottery ticket purchased on Saturday failed to win big.
His boss, Rep. Malliotakis, was happy to see him on the mend: “We are happy, grateful, and relieved that Thomas, a valued member of our Staten Island office, is alive and well after being struck by lightning last week. We appreciate the good Samaritan and medical staff at Staten Island University Hospital who helped him get emergency care.”
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