PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – It’s not hard to see the joy in Baylee Holbrook’s face when you see photos of her hunting.
Whether she was hoisting the head of a massive gator she hunted with her friends or carrying a compound bow while wearing camouflage, her smile was beaming.
But Holdbrook is now fighting for her life and the Putnam County community is left in disbelief and praying for a miracle after the 16-year-old student and her father were struck by lightning while they were hunting together Tuesday afternoon. Officials said lightning glanced off a tree before hitting them.
After they were struck, her father awoke after losing consciousness and discovered his daughter was not breathing. He called 911 and began CPR.
Rescue personnel took Holbrook to the HCA Florida Putnam Hospital, where she was stabilized enough to be taken to a trauma center. She was in critical condition as of Wednesday evening.
While she lay in the hospital, the community rallied.
Students, faculty, community members and deputies joined together around the flagpole Wednesday morning at Palatka Junior-Senior High School to pray for her recovery and again later at a vigil.
The gym inside Palatka Jr. Senior High School was packed Wednesday night.
Hundreds showed up to pray and spoke about the impact she had on the community, her love of God and how she lit up every room she was in.
Dylan Holbrook is Baylee’s cousin and said the two were close.
“It was like a brother-sister relationship. We always hunt, fish, all kinds of stuff like that,” he said.
Everyone who spoke of Baylee said that she is someone who would uplift them and loves the Lord and was always spreading his message.
“Telling me ‘Hey, Tay you should come to church. Pastor Willie’s church, you would really like it.’ I gave it a try, I went last Sunday. I really like it,” friend Cartaveon Valentine said.
“She always wanted to make sure that we went to bed with a bible verse if we were having a bad day or she would tell me ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK, it’s OK to not be OK, but God’s got you,” said friend Kaitlyn Sanders.
In addition to loving God and hunting, Baylee loved cheering and photography.
A family spokesperson and pastor said he knows her faith is going to bring her through this.
“We have been praying nonstop, dad has been praying nonstop. We really just, we’re really just praying for a miracle in this,” pastor Willie McKinnon said.
McKinnon said Baylee is dealing with trauma from the strike and said her family is waiting on test results to come back. Baylee’s father is recovering and expected to be OK.
Baylee’s cheer teammates said in support of their friend who is fighting right now they plan on wearing green bows for her at Friday’s football game. Everyone is asked to wear green, camo or pink since those were her favorite colors.
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