The location of the accident was in Alto, New Mexico, which is located in the most southern part of the Rocky Mountains approximately 5 miles north of Ruidoso. The weather that day was a typical summer day. Cool in the morning and warmer in the afternoon. Ruidoso is known for it’s afternoon showers in the mountains. I personally have witnessed the afternoon showers and thunderstorms. However, they were always fast moving and never stayed long. Matter of fact, my family was vacationing in Ruidoso just the week before the accident. My dad and I played golf all week long, and we took my kids fishing. The weather stayed constant all week long. The Thursday before I left, we were on the golf course when a thunderstorm developed. You could hear the thunder and see the lightning, and it was close. My dad starting talking about Lee Trevino being struck by lightning. He leaned over to me and said "I wonder what the odds are of being struck by lightning" and just kinda chuckled as we drove off in the golf cart. My family and I headed back to Texas on Sunday the 14th, the accident occurred the very next day, a day that I will never forget. My father and his friends had just completed a round of golf, and were waiting until noon to sign up for a tournament. They decided to practice their putting, while they were waiting. According to a eye witness, he said at approximately 11:45 am, he saw a tremendous flash of light. When he looked up, he saw white smoke that encompassed the green. The eye witness was approximately 200 yards or less from the putting green. He called 911 from his car, he saw several people that were injured on the green. He told me that when he saw my dad, that there was smoke coming from his body, and that his clothes were on fire.

CPR was administered to my dad, several bystanders were helping others that were not as severe as my dad.

The paramedics arrived at the scene and quickly determined that he had no pulse or heartbeat. They indicated that he was in asystole and v-fib. They immediately shocked his heart with the defibrillator and his heartbeat returned. During the transport to the hospital they had to shock his heart two more times. He was stabilized at the Ruidoso hospital. He was then taken by care flight to the burn/trauma center in Albuquerque. He was breathing by the use of a ventilator, that would soon be placed in his trach. He was on the vent four weeks. He did regain consciousness three days after the incident. But, he was not responding to questions or anything that the doctors tried. He also had skin graph surgery, to repair deeply damaged tissue in his right arm and shoulder. A few days later his heart started beating out of normal sinus rhythm. They had to perform a procedure called cardioversion (electrically shocking the heart).

He currently has a permanently damaged heart, his heartbeat has to be regulated through medication. The worst thing possible, that could have happened, did. My dad went without oxygen to the brain (anoxia) for an extended period of time. He also lacked an ample supply of blood to the brain. He has severe brain damage to the front left lobe. This particular part of the brain controls reasoning, memory (short and long), and communication skills.

After two months in Albuquerque, he was care flighted to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He spent approximately 4 weeks in a skilled nursing center. He still did not know who he was or who the family was. My father spent the next sixty days in rehab, but the doctors determined that he has lost practically all of his short and long-term memory. He cannot walk due to the brain damage and nerve damage in his legs and spine.

He is currently at home, where my mother takes care of him. He requires 24 hours a day care.

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