Struck By Lightning, Oregon Boy Had To Relearn How To Walk, Eat

PORTLAND - Fifteen months after he was hit by a lightning bolt, a boy has started in-line skating and is trying to regain the ability to run.

Christian Core, then 11, was at football tryouts in Gresham on Aug. 17, 1995, when he was zapped by a billion-to-one lightning bolt. His pulse stopped for 22 minutes.

He calls it, "The day I was reborn."

His father, Richard Core, performed CPR on his son after the accident along with another parent. The extent of the damage became clear after Christian was hospitalized.

"He had to relearn how to walk, to eat; he almost had to relearn how to say things," Core said. "He couldn't use a spoon. He lasted for months on milkshakes and Popsicles."

Christian used a wheelchair for months but now can climb the stairs of his home with one hand on the rail. When he does, he passes a framed reminder of his ordeal: a football shoe torn in two, a mouthpiece that flew out of his mouth and torn shreds from his blue sweatpants.

The bolt blew out his right eardrum and badly burned his back and right foot. He lost most of the hearing in his right ear, and the burned skin required grafts.

Christian's hamstrings atrophied and he still wears leg braces about half the time.

Doctors initially warned that there might be brain damage, but those fears proved unfounded.

During a recent interview, Christian joked steadily, teased his parents and smiled frequently.

Stephanie Core said the accident has brought the family closer together.

Richard Core, a bindery worker, said he has changed his attitude about his children. "I used to feel like my kids had to be the best, and I always pushed them to work at being the best," he said. "Now I want them to just always improve."

Their religious beliefs have been strengthened.

Christian said his "guardian angel" is a Spanish-speaking woman who emerged from the crowd and used hand gestures to explain to those providing CPR that his airway was blocked.

The family has never been able to find her to thank her.