I was struck by a bolt of lightning on a beach in Florida - here's how it hospitalized me

A woman has relived the horrifying  moment she was struck by lightning while sitting on a Florida beach in the morning hours.

Meredyth Willits was vacationing with her husband when she was suddenly hit by a bolt of lightning that sent her crumbling to the ground.

The author and psychic medium from Hinsdale, Illinois described the impact as feeling like 'a 300lb man' landed on her, leaving her stunned and fearing for her life. 

Her husband called 911 and EMS arrived on the scene to transport her to the emergency room where doctors discovered that the left side of her body had stopped functioning entirely. 

'It felt like a 300lbs man landed on the top of my head in one second. I immediately knew what was happening because I was in the middle of a beach, and no one was around except my husband,' Willits shared in a TikTok video.

'I knew that there was a possibility that I could be dying, and I was perfectly okay with it.'

Willits struggled to open her left eye and had lost all feeling, unable to move even her toes, sparking initial fears that she was suffering from a stroke.

With the shutdown of her body only temporary and fears she could be having a stroke swept away after scans, Willits lived with lasting symptoms.

These included experiencing concussion-like symptoms and pain in her left shin.

In a video posted on TikTok two weeks after the incident, Willits said that she has experienced an acne-like rash on the back of her head where she believes the lightening struck her, and a cyst on her ovary ruptured. 

Whether these symptoms are directly related to the lightning strike is not fully clear, as rashes and cyst ruptures are not typical symptoms of a lightning injury. 

But Willits believes these issues stem from the strike causing her body to flush out 'toxins, she explained in the video. 

Lightning-strike survivors can experience a wide range of symptoms. 

In the short term, survivors often report muscle soreness and concussion-like symptoms, including nausea, headache, memory loss and dizziness.

Over the long term, survivors can experience neurological issues such as difficulty multitasking, chronic forgetfulness, persistent headaches, nerve pain and even personality changes.

But survivors have reported some unusual symptoms too. One man from Texas had to relearn how to read and write. Others have claimed that a lightening strike granted them psychic abilities.

However, Willits said that her own psychic intuition was 'heightened' by the strike, although there is no scientific evidence to support the existence of such abilities. 

About 40 million lightening strikes hit the ground in the US every year. But the odds of being hit by one are less than one in a million. 

But there are some things that can increase your risk of being struck by lightning, such as standing under a tree or using electrical appliances during a storm.

The bolt of lightning struck Willits while she was enjoying a morning on the beach with her Husband. 

Immediately after the strike, Willits struggled to move or talk. Her husband began asking her questions to see if she was okay. 

Willits did her best to respond, growing irritated at his stream of questions but replying to help 'keep him calm.'

It is rare for someone to die as a result of a lightning strike - 90 percent of all lightning strike victims survive, according to the CDC.