First responders are celebrating with news a 10-year-old boy struck by lightning at Warilla, in NSW's Illawarra region, on Australia Day is expected to make a full recovery.
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The boy's father pulled him from the water at Little Lake, near Warilla Beach last Thursday after a lone lightning strike - a so-called "bolt from the blue" - knocked him unconscious.
Lifeguards and an off-duty doctor worked to revive him. He was responsive - breathing and making small movements - when he was placed in an induced coma and taken by road ambulance to The Children's Hospital at Westmead in western Sydney.
His future remained uncertain until Tuesday, when he was taken off mechanical ventilation.
Doctors have since described his condition as "neurologically normal".
The boy will receive ongoing treatment for burns of varying depth to his upper chest, back and leg.
NSW Ambulance's chief inspector Illawarra, Terry Morrow, said area paramedics had been keeping the boy in their thoughts.
"I've been to a number of lightning strikes where people have been struck underneath trees or buildings of creek beds while farming in rural areas, and their chances of survival have been next to nil. However on this occasion the ten-year-old boy is fully recovering from the lightning strike.
"Everyone is so excited to know that he's fully recovering and that his mum and dad are now going to be settling in Australia with the peace of mind that they can live in our community with happiness and joy."
ACM understands the boy and his family had recently moved to Australia from the UK.
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