A 25-Year-Old Indian-Origin Student, Who Was Struck By Lightning Earlier This Month And Was Fighting For Her Life, Is Off Ventilator And On The Road To Recovery, Doctors Said.
Susroonya Koduru, A Foreign Exchange Student Studying
Information Technology At The University Of Houston, Was Walking Along A Pond
With Her Friends On July 2 At The San Jacinto Monument Park When Lightning Hit.
She Is "Miraculously" Breathing On Her Own Since The Last Week And Has
Been Taken Off The Ventilator, According To The Hospital Sources.
The Doctors Monitoring Her Condition Said She Is Doing Good
Without The Ventilator And If Her Recovery Continues, She Might Not Need The
Ventilator.
Members Of Koduru's Family, Who Were Trying To Get Her
Parents From Hyderabad To Houston, Told PTI That The Visas Of Her Parents For
The US Has Been Approved And Should Be Arriving Next Week.
Koduru Was Put On Ventilator Support With A Tracheostomy As
She Was Unable To Breath And Had A PEG Tube To Support Nutrition While Waiting
For Any Return Of Brain Function.
There Were No Updates From The University Of Houston, Which
On July 26 Had Tweeted That "Our Hearts Are Heavy With Concern And
Compassion For Susroonya Koduru, A University Of Houston Graduate Student, Who
Was Struck By Lightning Earlier This Month".
The University Also Release Posted On Twitter That It Was In
Close Contact With Her Family In India And Understands The Profound Impact Of
Such An Unforeseen Event. Recognising The Urgency Of The Situation, A Statement
By The Institution Said, Its International Students And Scholar Services Office
Was Assisting Her Parents With The US Visa Process.
Kuduru's Cousin Surendra Kumar Kotha Had Said, "When She
Got Hit By Lightning And Was Thrown Into The Pond, She Went Into Cardiac Arrest
For 20 Minutes Before Circulation Could Be Restored." Subsequently, She
Suffered Devastating Brain Damage And Went Into A Coma.
The Family Is Appealing Through "Gofundme To Meet
Medical Costs. On Her Page, The Family Has Urged All For Help So That She Can
Get Back To Her Normal Routine.
Kuduru Came To The US For Further Studies And Was A Masters Student
In Information Technology At The University. She Had Nearly Completed Her
Courses And Was Waiting For An Internship Opportunity.
According To The National Weather Service, The Chances Of
Getting Struck By Lightning Per Year Are One In Nearly 1.2 Million.
In The Last 30 Years, There Have Been An Average Of 43
Lightning Deaths Per Year. Ten Per Cent Of People Who Are Struck By Lightning
Are Killed, Leaving 90 Per Cent With Various Degrees Of Disabilities, It
States.