Buzz
While deadly events like earthquakes, lightning strikes, and severe falls are typically seen as disasters, some individuals have surprisingly benefited from such incidents. Throughout history, people have overcome various medical issues after being involved in these life-threatening occurrences.
These miraculous recoveries have ranged from restoring eyesight and hearing to curing mental disorders and even cancer. Believe it or not, some individuals have been cured of cancer after lightning strikes, while others regained their vision after an animal’s headbutt. One person even overcame deafness after experiencing an earthquake.
10. Blind Man Regains His Vision After Being Struck By Lightning
In 1971, Edwin Robinson suffered a horrific truck accident that left him both blind and partially deaf. However, his life took an unexpected turn on June 9, 1980, when a lightning bolt struck him outside his home in Falmouth, Maine, while he was attempting to shield his pet chicken from the rain. The lightning strike sent him crashing to the ground, leaving him momentarily stunned.
That very night, Robinson’s sight and hearing were astonishingly restored. The incident quickly gained widespread attention. Robinson and his wife, Doris, were bombarded with so many calls that they had to disconnect their landline phone to finally get some rest. They were also invited to appear on various television shows.
Despite the massive media interest, the Robinsons did not profit from the extensive coverage. They only received a modest sum of one hundred dollars, plus travel funds for television appearances. They even passed up the chance to make money when a TV station approached them for a show.
The Robinsons turned down the offer because the television station wanted complete rights to the production. Robinson felt the station would sensationalize the event rather than focus on his miraculous recovery. Doris also preferred a documentary about their life after Robinson lost his sight and hearing, rather than just about the lightning strike incident.
9. Man Regains His Vision After Being Headbutted By a Horse
After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Don Karkos, like many Americans, enlisted in the US military. He joined the US Navy and was assigned to the tanker ship USS Rapaden.
The ship was responsible for refueling Allied vessels in the North Atlantic, an area swarming with German U-boats. While on one of its routine missions in 1942, the USS Rapaden was rocked by an explosion. A fragment from the blast struck Karkos above his right eye, severely injuring his forehead.
Karkos lost consciousness due to the injury and later regained awareness in a hospital in Iceland. The doctors there informed him that he had lost sight in his right eye. They even suggested removing the eye, but Karkos declined. He returned to the United States, where he worked in a mill before establishing a horse farm in 1978.
The loss of his right eye caused ongoing difficulties for Karkos, as he struggled to see walls directly in front of him and often collided with them. The situation worsened as he began to lose vision in his left eye due to cataracts. However, 64 years later, he miraculously regained sight in his right eye after another accident.
Karkos was getting his horse, My Buddy Chimo, ready for a race when the horse unexpectedly headbutted him in his previously blinded right eye, causing him to crash into a wall. That night, Karkos felt unwell, but the next morning he was shocked to find that he could see with his right eye—the same one the horse had struck.
8. Woman Heals From Multiple Sclerosis After Lightning Strikes Her
On August 17, 1994, Mary Clamser experienced an astonishing cure from multiple sclerosis after being struck by lightning inside her home in Oklahoma. Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disease that attacks the central nervous system and gradually paralyzes its victims.
Clamser endured the effects of the disease for 22 years, slowly losing control of her legs and eventually needing a wheelchair. On the day of the lightning strike, she was in the shower, with one hand on a metal bar and the other on the handle of the toilet flush. She also had metal braces on her legs.
The lightning hit her house and traveled through the plumbing, striking her while she was in the shower. She lost consciousness and later woke up in a hospital, where a doctor was checking for any bone fractures as she regained awareness.
Despite being paralyzed, she was able to feel the doctor's touch on her legs, a sensation that paralyzed individuals typically cannot experience. Within three weeks, she was walking without her braces, and two months later, she was confidently wearing high heels.
7. Man Regains His Hearing After a Powerful Earthquake
On August 23, 2011, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Louisa County, Virginia, sending tremors throughout the East Coast and surrounding areas. The quake caused delays in rail and air traffic and led to the shutdown of two nuclear reactors. Several buildings—including the Pentagon, the Capitol, the State Department, and numerous hospitals—were evacuated in a hurry.
While the earthquake terrified many, it turned out to be a miraculous event for Robert Valderzak from Washington, DC, as it cured his deafness. Valderzak had lost his hearing following a severe fall on Father’s Day two months earlier, which caused a skull fracture. He had since relied on lip-reading and a special microphone for communication.
At the time of the earthquake, Valderzak was receiving treatment at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Washington, DC. His daughter and three sons were visiting him, and after the quake subsided, Valderzak was astounded to realize that he could hear his son’s voice once again.
Medical experts believe that Valderzak regained his hearing because his deafness was due to “conductive hearing loss,” a condition where fluid accumulates in the ear. They theorize that the seismic vibrations and the medications he was given helped the fluid to drain, restoring his hearing. Valderzak is convinced that this was a miraculous occurrence.
6. A Lightning Strike Cured a Man’s Cancer
In 1855, Reuben Stephenson was working in a field in Langtoft, England, when he was struck by lightning, killing the two horses pulling his plow. The strike left him severely injured, and many feared he would not survive. Remarkably, he made a full recovery, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Allison who tended to him.
While treating Stephenson, Dr. Allison discovered a cancerous tumor on his lip. After Stephenson recovered from the lightning strike, Dr. Allison attempted to remove the tumor, only to find that it had disappeared. Dr. Allison believed that Stephenson had been healed of his cancer through the lightning strike.
5. Teenager No Longer Needs Prescription Glasses After Being Struck by Lightning
In July 2017, 16-year-old Faith Mobley was washing dishes at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Haleyville, Alabama, when lightning struck the restaurant. The bolt traveled through the building's pipes to reach Mobley as she worked.
The lightning made its way through the drive-thru headset that Mobley was wearing and exited through her left foot, causing a significant hole in her shoe. After the strike, she lost consciousness but was quickly aided by a coworker who dialed 911. Mobley later recalled feeling her body tighten just before going numb and passing out.
Her only visible injury was a burn on her foot where the lightning exited. Miraculously, her vision was restored, and she no longer needed the glasses she had worn before. Even her eye color appeared to have changed.
4. Man Healed of Mental Illness After Self-Inflicted Gunshot to the Head
In February 1988, the Associated Press reported on a man, referred to only as 'George,' who unknowingly cured his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) after a botched suicide attempt five years prior. At the time of the incident, George was just 19 years old.
OCD is a debilitating condition that forces those who suffer from it to perform excessive, perfectionist behaviors. For example, George became obsessed with frequent handwashing and showering, driven by a fear of germs. His condition eventually led him to lose both his job and his ability to continue his education, driving him to a state of depression and suicidal thoughts.
George purchased a .22-caliber rifle and aimed it at his brain, shooting through his mouth. Miraculously, he survived. The bullet passed through his skull, coming to rest in the left frontal region of his brain. Doctors were able to remove the bullet, which had damaged only the part of his brain responsible for the OCD.
Following the procedure, George's IQ returned to its pre-OCD level. He made a full recovery, securing a job and returning to school, where he excelled as an A student. Physician’s Weekly described the entire episode as a 'successful radical surgery.'
3. Blind Man Regains Partial Sight After Falling Down Stairs
In 2013, 68-year-old Pierre-Paul Thomas experienced a partial recovery from blindness, a condition he had been born with. The fall, however, was not the cure; it simply led him to undergo surgery that would ultimately improve his vision.
Thomas had lived with congenital nystagmus since birth, a condition where the eyes are not properly aligned in the sockets. This condition causes the eyes to involuntarily wander, leading to a loss of vision.
Thomas's vision was restored after an unfortunate fall in his Montreal home, which resulted in several broken facial bones, including fractures around his eyes. He underwent surgery to repair the damage, and afterward, a plastic surgeon asked if he wanted to fix his eyes. Thomas agreed to proceed.
The surgeons removed the cataract from Thomas's eyes, which had been responsible for his blindness. Though Thomas likely still had residual vision due to congenital nystagmus, the cataract had obstructed it. While his sight was partially restored, the effects of congenital nystagmus remain irreversible.
2. Woman Cured of Extraordinary Senses After Lightning Strike
In January 2017, researchers from Trinity College Dublin published a paper detailing the case of a woman who was temporarily cured of synesthesia after being struck by lightning. The woman, identified only as 'AB,' was the subject of the study, and her true identity was not disclosed.
Synesthesia is a rare condition in which a person experiences cross-wired senses, such as tasting words, hearing colors, or feeling the emotions of others. While some people with synesthesia enjoy the unique perceptions, others find the condition overwhelming and may seek treatment.
AB was temporarily freed from her synesthesia after being struck by lightning. However, the relief was short-lived, as the condition returned after some time.
1. Woman Regains Sight After Falling and Hitting Her Head
In 1993, Mary Ann Franco was involved in a severe car accident that resulted in spinal injuries and blindness. However, in August 2015, another accident at her Florida home led to the miraculous restoration of her vision.
While crossing her living room to answer the door, Franco tripped and struck her head on what she initially thought was the fireplace. She also suffered a neck fracture in the fall. After undergoing neck surgery and recovering from anesthesia, Franco was astonished to find that her vision had been restored.
