She brought her boyfriend back to life twice after a lightning strike. Three days later, he proposed
'I brought him back from death, so he’s kind of stuck,' Eva Broderick said
Not all marriages can say they begin with a "shocking" twist. Back in August 2025, Nick Broderick and his then-girlfriend, Eva Broderick, were on a 10-mile hike in Kettle Moraine State Forest, Wisconsin. When it started raining, Eva got worried about getting hit by lightning. A few minutes later, her worst fear came true. They waited 50 minutes for the search and rescue team to find them and by then, she had revived Nick twice, reported WTMJ. Three days later, Nick knew exactly what he wanted to do next. Local 12 also reported the story on October 20, 2026, garnering 1,192 views since.
Worst fear came true
It was supposed to be a normal hike for Nick and Eva. But when they were two miles away from their car, it started pouring. Nick recalled, "The rain just kept getting heavier and heavier as a really big rainstorm. She turned to me and said, 'Nick, what if we get struck by lightning?'" A few minutes later, there was a loud boom, and the next thing she saw was Nick on the ground. While he could not remember the next few minutes, Eva explained, "All I remember was being curled in a fetal position with my hands over my ears, screaming, I think, and feeling what can only be described as electricity in my feet. I was curled into Nick, and I looked over. He was lying on his back, his eyes were half open, glazed over, and he was blue and not breathing."
50 minutes on the ground
Eva called 911 right away, but because she couldn't give them her exact location, it took about 50 minutes to find them. On top of that, the signal kept dropping, making communication difficult. Dan Schiller, the Assistant Chief of the Palmyra Fire Rescue, said, "It’s pinging out a mile, a mile and a half into the forest area, but it’s not very specific. We just took our best guess and tried to send people everywhere we could." During that time, Eva had revived her then-boyfriend twice. Schiller added, "That’s not something that normally happens." Nick was taken to the hospital, but since he had nothing serious except some hearing loss and tendon issues, he was discharged after three days. Right after he left the hospital, he proposed.
'Lightning Capital'
Surprisingly, getting hit by lightning is an extremely rare occurrence in the U.S. The CDC reported that about 37 million lightning strikes hit the ground every year, but the chances of being struck are less than one in a million. On a brighter note, 90% of the lightning strike victims survived. Additionally, the probability of getting struck more than once is lower. The record for the most number of times an individual got struck by lightning in one lifetime is seven. For those who don't know, Florida is known as the "lightning capital" of America, with a record of 2,000 lightning injuries over the last 50 years. The firefighters said that a tree next to the Brodericks took the hit, and they were struck by the ground current.
Long-running joke
Cva and Nick got married in August 2026. Nick explained why they chose to tie the knot in the month of their accident, "We wanted to rewrite August and make it a better month." Eva chimed in, "I’ve made the joke quite a few times that he can’t leave me. I brought him back from death, so he’s kind of stuck." Eva will receive the "Lifesavers Award "at the Palmyra Fire Department in the next few weeks for saving Nick's life.
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