He was struck by lightning, and tonight, he's talking to ABC 4 News. Ferren rice's dog was killed when 300 kilo-volts of electricity surged through the two of them, but Ferren lived to describe the moments of horror.
"I definitely feel blessed," rice said.
Over the past two weeks, he’s been in and out of the hospital.
"They did a lot of tests, x-rays a lot of blood work," he told us.
After lightning struck his right leg, went up through his left shoulder and out his left leg, rice is regaining feeling in parts of his body. He's also had skin grafts on his arm, but doctors say he's going to be ok.
"It’s just a matter of time to relearn to do everything but it was a major electrical voltage that went through me so things are a little... Weird," rice said.
The weekend of July 28th, Ferren, his sister amber and his dog Jovie went backpacking in the high Uintas. The crew had clear skies throughout the first part of the trip, and then in a matter of minutes the weather changed, drastically.
"Out of nowhere, the winds picked up, lightning started flashing," rice said.
Ferren and his sister grabbed all their stuff and took shelter under a tree. He said he was bending over to grab a poncho when the lightning struck.
"I just felt paralyzed in that position and fell backwards. I was conscious, only had control of my right arm and my head," he said.
Struggling to take a breath, Ferren said his mind went straight to his family.
"I was doing everything in my power to breathe and I couldn't breathe, they were the first things that came across my mind I’m never going to see my boy, I’m never going to see my wife, this is the end, that's it," he said.
But then amber rushed to Ferren’s side. When she realized he wasn't breathing, she started rescue breaths, and continued until he was breathing on his own again.
"She was incredible. It's amazing how instincts just kicked in, she didn't panic, she did what she had to do," rice said.
Ferren's dog Jovie was not so fortunate. She was right by ferren's right leg and was killed by the strike. He credits her, his sister and the strangers that helped them with his life.
"It worked out the way it was supposed to I guess, like I was meant to be here still. If any one of those things goes a different way, then there's a good chance that I’m not," he said.
Rice works for an extreme sports store, so being is his passion. Once he recovers... He says he'll be right back to it.
