He was struck by lightning three times. “I thought I was dying”. The story of Fr. George

In August 2019, the story of Fr. Jerzy Kozłowski lived all of Poland. As a result of the raging storm on the Polish side of the Tatra Mountains, four people died and over 160 were injured. Fr. Kozłowski was struck by lightning three times. – Thought I was dying. I called to God to save me – he recalls that day. The drama took place over the course of three “exhausting hours”. What happened then, what he felt when his body was struck by lightning, what are the consequences to this day – he told Medonet.

1. Three years have passed since the storm that passed through the Tatra Mountains on August 22, 2019
2. A group of tourists was then struck by lightning. Four people were killed, including two children, 160 people were injured
3. Among the victims was Fr. Jerzy Kozłowski, who was struck three times by lightning. As he recalled, at the moment of the lightning strike, he felt a great pain, unlike any other he had known. «A terrible feeling as if suspended, stunned, paralyzed, as if after being kicked with an electric shock, but much more powerful»
4. What exactly happened on that day on Giewont, what injuries he sustained as a result of a lightning strike – he told in an interview with Medonet

Monika Mikołajska listened to it. The text was originally published in August 2021.

The signals of the impending storm came at the worst time

It was the first time I went to Giewont. I was walking with a group of friends and the pastor of my first parish, Fr. Stanisław. We treated going out as a warm-up before a week-long trip to the mountains. Compared to the higher peaks, Giewont is not very demanding, so we thought that we could do it without any problems. I did not suspect the consequences of this trip in my wildest thoughts.

Today I also see a certain irony of fate. When we left the forest, the sky was covered with clouds and fog, but I clearly heard a TOPR helicopter flying somewhere nearby. I thought then that I would never want to be in it in my life. At that point, there were no disturbing signs of a changing aura.

The first signals of the approaching storm appeared when we were already at the top, by the cross. So actually at the worst possible moment. When I heard distant thunder, a great anxiety arose in me – after all, I was on Giewont, near the metal cross! I started asking God that nothing bad would happen to us. I have sinned in the spirit of all those present. I guess I had a feeling that something might go very wrong – but I can only say it from today’s perspective.

The weather changed very quickly, apparently the storm was racing at a speed of 100 km per hour. At first it just started to sprinkle, people took out their cloaks and so did I. We started going down. I remember that my friends came down first. Not wanting to squeeze through the crowd, I stood patiently in the line to go down, stood at the very top, literally half a meter from the pedestal of the cross. It was 13 with minutes.

The first lightning strike. The rock exploded as if it had been hit by a grenade

It is said that the cross attracts lightning to Giewont. I heard that it is rather because the rocks of this mountain are rich in iron. For me, this theory was confirmed by the first lightning that started this whole drama. He struck not on the cross, but very close to me – into a rock that just exploded as if it had been hit by a grenade. The shards stuck into people’s bodies. I have a scar on my leg from the impact of one of them. There was also a man who had a golf ball-sized piece stuck in his thigh.

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The moment the lightning struck, I felt a sudden, intense pain. But it wasn’t the pain I had known so far, it was something completely different. A terrible feeling, as if suspended, stunned, paralyzed, like an electric kick, but much more powerful. Paralysis that prevents you from breathing. I felt this state quite consciously, I knew that I was struck by lightning. I could see its enormous brightness through closed eyelids.

From the account of the priest who was with us on this trip, I know that the shock wave knocked me and the people there to the ground. Blood flowed from my cut eyebrow (later it turned out in the hospital that I had a cracked top of the eye socket). The man next to me had an open femur fracture. Another, with whom I was just joking while standing in line, had his head shattered. Someone wrapped it in an elastic bandage, very quickly the dressing turned red with blood. Realizing that there was a danger of death, I jumped to my feet with the last of my strength and granted collective absolution to everyone.

The white cape I was wearing is gone – I don’t know what happened to it. When I opened my eyes, she was just gone (my friends later said that clothes literally turned to ash when struck by lightning). I also didn’t have the right shoe, the sock was tattered, and there was charred skin on my foot. As a result of the paralysis, the left leg seemed to be inactive, I could not make any movement with it. Even more so today I cannot understand how I managed to get up then.

Second lightning strike. The whole body ached

It got very cold. The temperature dropped from 26 degrees C to around eight. A storm broke out. It started to rain heavily, a strong wind blew, lightning struck the mountain. Despite this, people gathered for sewing very quickly began to organize themselves, helping one another. There were screams: Is anyone alive? Are you all right? You have to call for help!

I began to weaken. I was shivering. My whole body ached, not only from the wounds and burns, but also from the cold. It was torture. However, it was necessary to move away from the metal cross and get down from the top. I managed to go a few meters lower. Together with the old lady, her daughter and a man with a bloody bandage on his head, we took refuge in a rock bend. We were exhausted. We lay down on the rocks and waited for help.

Then, somewhere downstairs, I heard the call of Fr. Stanislaus. He asked if I was there or if I was alive. Hearing us, he turned back, brought us water, and gave me his purple raincoat. “Help is on the way, wait for it,” he said. He himself did not have the strength to transport us downstairs, besides, he was taking care of other participants of our trip.

So we were lying on the rock, shivering from the cold, and then suddenly I felt a strong contraction run through my body. A second lightning struck, silently. The feeling wasn’t as strong as it was the first time. My companions felt it too, though I don’t know if they all. It was then that I noticed that TOPR rescuers appeared. I saw a helicopter taking a flight around the top of Giewont.

The third lightning strike – the most terrible

Then a third lightning struck me. This one was the most terrible. While the first one struck the left side of the body, the right one struck the right. There are third degree burns, charring of the skin. The right leg, just like the left leg, stopped moving. The purple jacket that I got from Fr. Stanisława, literally pumped herself up with the air that burned so much that it was impossible to breathe. In a rush of adrenaline, I tore the foil open and threw it off. I don’t know how I did it. However, I remember that in those moments I thought I was dying. I cried out to God to save me.

Then there was pain, I couldn’t move my right hand anymore. All I wanted at the time was for everything to be over, for me to at least pass out. However, nothing of the sort happened. I was exhausted but fully aware. This third lightning bolt not only damaged my body, but also destroyed my psyche. I just wanted God to take me away so that I wouldn’t get tired anymore.

Finally, I saw the lifeguard above me and heard him say into the walkie-talkie: “I have a guy here with two purple legs.” A rescue helicopter was hovering above me, a stretcher was brought. I remember being pulled up on the rope. Before my eyes I have a spinning propeller, bigger and bigger.

On the one hand, I was glad that they were taking me, on the other, I was asking myself why … I was just stupid for being so lucky.

Damage. Even the fat under the skin has been destroyed

I was taken to hospital in Zakopane. When my watch was taken off, it was exactly 16. I remember that I took a photo at the cross around 12.45, the storm came after 13pm, then the first lightning must have struck me more or less. So it took about three hours from the first hit to the moment I got to the SOR. Three exhausting hours. I spent nine days in the hospital ward in Zakopane. Then I was taken to a specialist hospital in Polanica Zdrój.

Fortunately, it turned out that I didn’t have any internal injuries. Hearing and sight were not damaged, all organs worked properly. A cracked orbital top was diagnosed (after hitting a rock with the first hit). The entire length of the left leg has become very large, with swelling. When you squeezed it, a hole would appear in the skin, like in a yeast dough. It hurt a lot. The peroneal nerve of the right leg was also paralyzed, the consequences of which I still feel today.

Left foot hyperesthesia appeared. I have a scar on my little finger, actually a hole, maybe that’s where the lightning came out. Said hypersensitivity to stimuli was so great that standing on a foot was associated with great pain. Even when someone approached the bed in which I was lying there was a defensive reflex.

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I had burns of every degree on my body – luckily, the worst was only in two places: on the back, by the shoulder blade and on the ankle. The skin was white there – dead. The doctor told me that even the fat under the skin had been destroyed on my back. The only way out was a transplant. Rectangles of healthy tissue were taken from my thigh and sewn into the damaged areas. Everything caught on nicely, although the traces remained. At the shoulder blade, for example, I have a characteristic hollow – the skin is thinner there than in other places.

The efficiency in the hands returned on its own, it was worse with the legs

Rehabilitation awaited me after the surgeries. It lasted over two months. While the efficiency in the hands returned on its own after a few days, it was much worse with the legs. Due to nerve damage, the legs were simply immobile. They had to be practiced constantly. At first, however, I only lay there, then I moved with the rehabilitation walker, then with the help of crutches and special poles. I left the hospital on my own.

The hyperesthesia that I mentioned also began to recede, although only after 1,5 months of rehabilitation. Only then was I able to put on my shoes. Still, traces of this hypersensitivity are felt. My left foot is still not fully mobile, it is much weaker, I can move it less (also my fingers). I still continue my rehabilitation, although not in hospital conditions. It is possible that it will continue for the rest of your life. I am prepared for it.

I returned to Giewont as a winner

A year after these events, at the urging of my friends, I returned to Giewont. I wanted to face him, take a leisurely look at the places where the lightning hit me, especially the first. I wanted to think back to those events and thus break the barriers that had arisen in me. Not only mental, but also physical. I was not sure if I would be able to climb to the top with my leg not fully functional. Amazingly, I did it. Moreover, I was doing better than some tourists. I even felt euphoria. It was very liberating. I can say that I returned to Giewont as a winner.

On the other hand, however, I must admit that when a larger cloud appeared in the sky, I immediately felt anxiety. If a storm had developed out of her, I cannot tell how I would have acted.

People often ask me how I react to the storm after those experiences. My reply is that when I’m in the building it’s okay. But when I’m outside, my feelings about what happened on Giewont come back. So is the fear of lightning. To this day, I flinch when I hear thunder storms. But what is most important to me then is to try to objectively assess the situation. You have to live normally.

I would like to appeal to all people going to the mountains: always check the weather forecasts carefully.