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Jonathan Colson (right) was active in different sports. Visit the Photo Place

Lightning-strike victim recovering

Boy who survived lightning strike at Little League game on long road to recovery

BY EMILY BATTLE

Date published: 7/16/2009

BY EMILY BATTLE

Jonathan Colson has always given his all when it comes to baseball.

He was so happy to be on the field that he often seemed to be dancing, his joy so evident that it drew the attention of opposing players who didn't know him.

Jonathan, 11, is now putting his every effort toward recovering from a tragic June 3 accident.

That evening, which had seemed like just another day at the ball field, turned into a night that has changed the lives of several families forever.

Right after Jonathan's Little League game had been called off for weather, a lightning strike from a sky that still had patches of blue took the life of his friend Chelal Gross-Matos, his baseball coach's son.

The bolt left Jonathan lifeless on the ground.

Maria Hardegree, an emergency-room nurse at Mary Washington Hospital whose son had been playing on an adjacent field, heard people yelling that two boys were down.

She approached the field and saw two adults bringing Jonathan off the field. She told them to put him down, and when she found that the boy had no pulse, she started CPR.

Hardegree continued resuscitation efforts until Jonathan was in an ambulance headed for Mary Washington Hospital's trauma center, and his pulse returned. Colson was at Mary Washington before being transported later that night to VCU Medical Center in Richmond.

Jonathan remained at VCU for nearly a month as the swelling in his brain reduced. Doctors and nurses regulated his body temperature and treated burns on his legs and head, according to Beth Girone, who is serving as a spokeswoman for the Colson family.

Although Jonathan could not breathe on his own or open his eyes during this time, neurological tests showed that his brain was functioning well. It just wasn't communicating with the rest of his body.

At VCU, he worked on relearning how to open his eyes, squeeze his hands and move his mouth.

On June 25, he moved to the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center in Charlottesville, where he has made more progress, Girone said.

Toward the end of June, he stood up for the first time since the accident.

To make a donation to help with Jonathan Colson's medical expenses, send a check made payable to the "Jonathan Colson Fund" to: BB&T, Jonathan Colson Fund, c/o Brittany Harler, 400 George St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401 Spotsylvania County Little League has also set up a memorial fund to help the family of Chelal Beninu Gross-Matos. Donations can be made at any Wachovia Bank branch by asking for the SCLL Memorial Fund. All money collected will go to help the Matos family.

Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 7/16/2009

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