MN girl struck by lightning during Florida vacation discharged from hospital

MN girl hit by lightning released from hospital

After being treated for a severe lightning strike injury, Mila Vang is now out of the hospital. She was struck on a beach in Florida while celebrating her 12th birthday with her family last year.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - After 15 months in a hospital room, a Minnesota girl is finally waking up home this morning.

What happened

What we know: Mila Vang was severely injured when she was struck by lightning on a beach in Florida.

She was celebrating her 12th birthday with her family when she was struck.

The incident placed her in a hospital in Orlando, until last month, when she was transferred to Children's Minnesota in St. Paul.

Mila and her family received a warm send-off on Thursday as she was finally able to head home.

Florida lightning strike

Minnesota family's Florida vacation turns tragic

One mother’s trip to celebrate her daughter’s birthday turned tragic last year after she was struck by lightning and badly hurt while they were at the beach – putting her in a Florida hospital ever since. That mother shares her story with FOX 9’s Chenue Her and explains why she’s still holding onto hope.

The backstory: Nalee Yang’s daughter, Mila Vang, was struck by lightning and severely injured while they were at the beach.

While at the beach, Nalee and Mila were standing near each other, feet in the water. Nalee said Mila had just started wandering into the water and that was when the lightning struck her daughter. She said it happened in the blink of an eye.

"When she was flipped over, she was burned everywhere and it looked like she already died," Nalee emotionally described in Hmong. "At that time, you just have to pray, ‘God! Please help! God! Please help! What happened? Help!’ You don’t know who to ask."

Nalee said she was also hurt because she was standing nearby, but she was only hospitalized for a day. Mila, though, has been in a hospital bed since.

"She cannot talk. She cannot hear. She’s just like a baby… like a newborn baby. She doesn’t know nothing at all," Nalee said, adding that Mila still can’t move except for slightly turning her head periodically.

But, Nalee said her biggest hero is her son, Joshua. Right after his sister was struck by lightning, he jumped into action and performed CPR on his sister at the beach that day and saved her life. He was just 13 years old at the time.

The incident put Mila in an Orlando hospital ever since, but it had been always Nalee’s hope to get her daughter back home here in the Twin Cities. On Nov. 19, 2024, Nalee said her prayer was answered. Mila was finally being transferred to Children’s Minnesota in St. Paul.