Teen leaves hospital five days after he was struck by lightning

PHOENIX (KSAZ) -- A 13-year-old boy who was struck by lightning in El Mirage is now out of the hospital, and doctors say they are amazed by his quick recovery.

Josiah Wiedman was admitted to Phoenix Children's Hospital in critical condition. He was unconscious when he was admitted, and just five days later, he walked out of the hospital. Now, the 8th grader said he feels like superman, knowing he survived getting hit by lightning.

"It started kinda raining, so I was going home," Josiah recounted. "Then randomly, I felt this burst of heat, then everything went dark."

The zap of electricity stopped Josiah's heart, but it was not enough to damage his organs.

"Just enough electricity to temporarily stop the heart. Again, the CPR is what saved him," said Dr. Craig Egan with Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Josiah fell to the ground and hit his head hard, which led to a concussion. A neighbor performed the life-saving CPR, then first responders took over.

"Dang, I survived it," said Josiah. "I was dead for, like, 15 minutes. Dang. I beat death."

Josiah's mother says he was holding his skateboard, and believes it took the brunt of the electric shock. Meanwhile, Josiah doesn't appear to have any permanent damage at this point, just some marks on his leg.

"It just felt like needles constantly being stabbed into me," said Josiah.

Dr. Egan says he's never seen a lightning victim recover with such lightning-fast speed.

"I'm very amazed there's not more injury to Josiah or his friend," said Dr. Egan.

Josiah's friend suffered minor burns, and concussion, rather than lightning, was the reason Josiah blacked out. Less than a week after he was struck, however, Josiah would walk out of the hospital, on his own.

"I feel like im superman right now," said Josiah.

Doctors have ordered Josiah to stay home for the next couple weeks, and he will also have to go through speech and physical therapies. He is, however, expected to make a full recovery.