A Florida Keys fishing captain was released from a hospital on Tuesday, almost a week after he was struck by lightning on his boat in Florida Bay off Islamorada.
HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where paramedics took him after he was struck last Thursday morning, released a photograph of Richard “Rick” Stanczyk, 44, surrounded by medical staff before he was discharged Tuesday.
READ MORE: Florida Keys charter fishing captain struck by lightning, sheriff’s office says
His brother, Nick Stanczyk, also a well-known professional Keys angler, posted on Facebook, “My brother is coming home! Thank you everyone for the support since Thursday!”
Rick Stanczyk — who’s part of a Keys fishing legacy, his family owns the iconic Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada — took clients out on the flats last week when lightning struck him around 6:30 a.m., according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
His brother said in a social-media post this week that one of the clients immediately began CPR after the strike.
Monroe County’s Trauma Star helicopter ambulance flew Stanczyk to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where he was treated all week.
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The incident was the second lightning strike in South Florida to make headlines in recent days.
On Sunday, Kenya Glasgow, 31, and her 2-year-old daughter Kennedi were fatally struck by lightning when they walked from their car to the front door of a relative’s house in Margate, where they were attending a family dinner. Kameron Glasgow — Kenya’s husband and Kennedi’s father — and Kennedi’s twin sister Kensli were there when the bolt hit.