Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Lightning-Struck Camper Turns 13 in Hospital

Ethan Kadish, one of three campers struck by lightning at a Jewish camp in Indiana, marked his 13th birthday in a Cincinnati hospital.

Kadish has been in the hospital since June 29, when lightning struck without warning at the Goldman Union Camp Institute in Zionsville, Ind., near Indianapolis.

“This is never how we would have imagined celebrating your 13th birthday … it is with bittersweet feelings that we welcome you into our Jewish tradition as a Bar Mitzvah, a son of the commandments,” Ethan’s parents, Alexia and Scott, wrote in a message to him posted on their website, Caringbridge.org/visit/ethankadish, which provides updates on his condition.

Ethan was moved last week to the rehabilitation floor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital about a week after he began breathing on his own and was released from the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit.

“We have so many hopes and dreams for your future, and right now we are focused on helping you heal to the best of your abilities,” his parents wrote in wishing him a Happy Birthday on Friday.

They added: “We know you are a hard worker and a team player. These qualities will take you far in life and in your healing. We will support you along this new path of life and will stand by you as we journey down this road together.”

The two other campers struck by the lightning during an Ultimate Frisbee game on the Reform movement camp’s athletic field were released from the hospital shortly after the incident.

Read more: http://www.jta.org/2013/07/21/news-opinion/united-states/ethan-kadish-struck-by-lightening-at-camp-marks-bar-mitzvah-in-hospital#ixzz2ZjDTZChz

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.