Update: 6-year-old dies weeks after lightning strike killed dad
The news of a father and son being hit by lightning shocked everyone. While the father did not survive the lightning strike, the son made it a month after the heartbreaking incident.
Now, the little boy has passed away as well after fighting valiantly for weeks. Keep reading to learn everything we know.
6-year-old Grayson Boggs and his 34-year-old father Matthew Boggs, were walking hand in hand in their driveway in Valley Hills when the unthinkable happened. A lightning strike hit both and caused fatal injuries.
While Matthew died on the spot, little Grayson held on. He was immediately transferred to Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple. While his prognosis was grim from the onset, his family did not want to give up hope.
The family launched a campaign and GoFundMe fundraiser to help Grayson have the best fighting chance. Unfortunately, even weeks after the May 15th incident, the little boy did not show much improvement, which led doctors to advise removing life support on June 13th. Grayson passed away just three days after.
The fateful incident which unfolded on May 15th, 2023, occurred around 5 p.m. when Matthew walked to get his sons from the bus stop. Elijah separated from the duo, who were at the edge of the driveway when thunder clapped.
Elijah recalls the scene when he ran back to his father and brother. He initially had not realized what exactly had happened.
“I was really scared. I rolled Grayson over and he was kind of smiling a little bit,” 11-year-old Elijah said in an interview. “I thought they were just joking, but when I rolled my dad over the middle of his head was bleeding and his face was already purple.”
Matthew’s mother, Angela Boggs, was also present at the home and witnessed the entire horrific situation unfold. She rushed to the side of her son and grandson while neighbors also joined in, in an attempt to perform life-saving measures while they waited for emergency services to arrive.
Reports after the incident showed that Grayson seemed fine from the neck down, but doctors were unsure whether there was any brain damage.
A family friend, Stephanie Burris, launched a GoFundMe fundraiser and kept updating those donating with news about Grayson. Doctors had told the family from the beginning that the young boy was heavily sedated and breathing with the help of a ventilator.
On May 19, they made an update, “Grayson has sustained a major anoxic brain injury. The doctors said that Grayson may not walk, talk, eat, or possibly see again”. It continued, “What that means for the family, is that when Grayson gets to come home, he will be total care with frequent appointments and therapies.”
The fundraiser was updated constantly with the little boy’s health. While Grayson remained stable, it was decided that his condition might not improve. “Today we had a care conference with Grayson’s healthcare team. The doctors told us, that the state Grayson is in, is how he will remain for the rest of his life,” the update read.
His mother, Kayla, then made the heartbreaking decision to remove her son from the ventilator and signed him up to be an organ donor. Friends and family of the Boggs family visited him in his final days to say their goodbyes.
“Please just pray that we keep him comfortable at this time and pray for healing for the family. We may not know what God’s plan is, but we know he has his arms wrapped around Grayson at this time,” Burris wrote about the decision.
Grayson died the following day. The campaign had raised a total of $102,000, which was over the target set for $100,000.
This is such a heartbreaking story. We are sending our best wishes to Grayson and his family as they navigate this heartbreaking time in their lives. Share this with others so they can offer their condolences as well.
