A hike through Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest became a life-threatening emergency for Nick Broderick and his girlfriend Eva in August 2025. They were roughly two miles from their car when rain began, leaving them without shelter as they made their way toward the parking lot. Lightning struck a tree beside them, and the resulting ground current injured both hikers. Eva found Nick on his back, his eyes partly open, his skin blue and his breathing stopped.
After calling 911, Eva immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. A weak phone signal complicated the emergency call, and she was unable to communicate their precise location along the trail. It took search-and-rescue personnel 50 minutes to locate them. During that interval, Eva restarted Nick’s heart twice, keeping him alive until help reached them.
Following a three-day hospital stay, Nick survived with slight hearing loss in one ear and some tendon damage. Upon discharge, he proposed to Eva. Hoping to associate August with something happier than their near-fatal experience, the couple married shortly before the first anniversary of the lightning strike. Eva’s actions also earned her a lifesaving award from the Palmyra Fire Department.
