A beloved Florida teacher who grew up in Pembroke Pines is on the road to recovery after a lightning strike left him fighting for his life in Peru. But his family’s hopeful that their community (and perhaps, a global superstar) can help James Fernandez–husband, father and adventurer–get the best shot at regaining movement in his arms and legs.
Before Bryan Lieberman met Fernandez as a teenager in South Florida, he said he was told the essentials.
“You’re never going to believe it. I met this guy, he like, skateboards, his mom lets him keep snakes in his room, and he’s got this huge afro,” Lieberman says he was told. “And you’re going to love him.”
Fernandez, now 41, cemented his place in Lieberman’s life from the moment he showed up as “the most warm and welcoming kid that I had ever met.” Long after high school, they and other friends frequently traveled in search of surf and adventure.
“Me, Yuri, James, and our other best friend, Austin, were supposed to go on a surf trip to El Salvador in April,” Lieberman says. “Obviously, that trip is either not going to happen or have different participants in it now.”
James Fernandez family
James Fernandez family
A beloved Florida teacher who grew up in Pembroke Pines is on the road to recovery after a lightning strike left in Peru. But his family’s hopeful that their community (and perhaps, a global superstar) can help James Fernandez–husband, father and adventurer–get the best shot at regaining movement.
Obviously, he says, because Fernandez, now a father of two and middle school teacher in Pinellas County, and Yuri Botelho, were struck by lightning while on a guided mountain biking tour over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“It was a beautiful day, they were doing everything right… and out of the absolute clear blue, Yuri got struck by lightning,” Lieberman says.
Botelho was killed instantly. Fernandez, who was also struck, suffered neck fractures and a spinal cord injury in the freak accident, but survived.
He now finds himself at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, undergoing rehabilitation and making what Lieberman, who regularly updates Fernandez’s GoFundMe page, calls “statistic-shattering progress.”
But the mental, physical and financial battle for his family continues.
“His family has been a group of absolute rock stars in this process,” Lieberman says. “Having to immediately switch off everything else in their lives, you know, to jump in and support him and even move geographically… It’s really hard, and they need a break, too.”
The GoFundMe account has raised close to $200,000 out of a $500,000 goal for Fernandez’s recovery. And while the support has blown everyone away, Lieberman says his friend’s students gave him one more idea to help spread the word about the fundraiser.
“A lot of his students and the parents of the students have reached out to me to check on their favorite teacher,” he says. “One of his students… reached out and you know, was saying, ‘I love Mr. Fernandez.’ He related to him because Mr. Fernandez always talks about Bad Bunny.”
Fernandez’s family is Puerto Rican, just like the mega star that will be headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime show in a matter of weeks.
“We reached out to him on Instagram. You know, it’s very unlikely that someone like that would respond. But you know, hey, maybe there’s still a chance,” Lieberman says.
And Fernandez knows a thing or two about beating odds. He’s breathing on his own, eating normally and showing encouraging signs of muscular response in his shoulders and arms.
His 42nd birthday is at the end of January. If his miraculous survival and fighting spirit is any indication, anything can happen.