RICHMOND—
A local Little League Baseball player who nearly died after being struck by lightning speaks out for the first time. Some may see Jonathan Colson as a modern-day Lazarus.Last summer, he and a friend were struck by lightning at a baseball game in Spotsylvania. The other boy was killed, and Jonathan was clinically dead for several minutes, but paramedics brought him back.
Wednesday, Jonathan was in Richmond to offer a surprise thank you while celebrating his 12th birthday.
At a VCU Medical Center Trauma and Life Evac Conference, Jonathan took the podium during a surprise visit and said, "I'm going to give my own speech."
He got a standing ovation and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. He said, "God has blessed me with good friends, family and all the people that prayed for me."
It was June 4, 2009 when Colson was standing on the third base line with his pal Chelal Matos. That's when they first heard thunder and many thought the storm would go around them, but instead lightning dropped out of the sky.
Jonathan's dad, Mark Colson says, "They say the bolt traveled 10 miles before hitting the ground."
The field at Lee Hill Park in Spotsylvania sits on top of an old landfill and to this day, no one knows what the conductor was.
When the kids were hit, Chelal died on the scene, and technically so did Jonathan. He was in cardiac arrest for 20 minutes. A nurse was nearby, she worked to get a pulse and succeeded. Jonathan was rushed to Mary Washington and transferred to VCU Medical Center.
He's a little boy with a big heart and big scars who even today is fighting to get things back to normal.
Jonathan's dad says, "One day he got upset and said, 'Dad, how long will I be like this?'" "I said. 'Son, the doc says two to three years and you'll make a full recovery.'" Jonathan responded, "I don't have two to three years, I've got things I want to do."
He touted to this audience he touts his first completed goal. Jonathan says, "I climbed a mountain the other day and got all the way to the top."
There are many more mountains both emotionally and physically for Jonathan. He says he just wishes his best bud was beside him.
