It was the beginning of summer 14 years ago.
Cattails rustling in the breeze, golf balls scattered all over the grass and families out to enjoy a day at the driving range at Meadows Golf Course in Littleton.
Jordan Miklos was 16 and just like any teenage boy, wanted to be just like dad.
“[I was] begging, nagging and annoying him to the point where he finally agreed to take me to the driving range,” Jordan Miklos said.
Shortly after, the rest of Jordan’s story goes blank and has only been filled in by people who were there on that fateful day.
“We got called on a lightning strike at the Meadows Golf Course,” Lt. Brendan Finnegan with West Metro Fire said. “There wasn't any rain or lightning storms in the area.”
Lt. Finnegan was one of the first on scene.
“We knew it was going to be a little bit chaotic with two patients in cardiac arrest,” Lt. Finnegan said.
Jordan and his Dad were both struck by lightning.
“My shoes had exploded. My shirt was fried. My shorts were fried. My golf club was a titanium shaft and it was splintered, the head was disconnected,” Jordan said.
They were rushed to the hospital in separate ambulances.
“Knowing that he was a kid being out here with his father and being a dad myself, you just want everything in your power to bring [Jordan] back and during transport we were able to get him intubated and got his heart rhythm back on the monitor, so it was looking good,” Lt. Finnegan said.
“We got to Littleton Hospital and in the back of your mind you’re hoping the other medical crew is having the same luck with his dad,” Lt. Finnegan said.
Jordan's dad did not make it and Jordan wasn't out of the woods just yet. He had burns all over his body and was in a coma for nearly two days.
“The most damaging part is that I lost 60 pounds so pretty much all the muscle and fat that I had on my body was essentially burned off from the inside,” Jordan said.
Jordan was alive because of the care he received and knew at that moment what he was destined to do.
“I hit the ground running and tried to do all I could to focus on giving back in a capacity that made sense for me,” Jordan said.
That destiny was becoming a firefighter, and his time with Lt Finnegan was far from over.
“Seven years that I lost track of Jordan, turns out he was interning with our fire department,” Lt. Finnegan said. “When he graduated, he revealed to us who he was and I was like ‘wow that's just amazing.’"
Lt. Finnegan then became a mentor to Jordan over the next several years helping him get through the many hurdles to becoming a firefighter.
Jordan is now in his rookie year as a firefighter with Eagle River Fire Protection in Edwards.
What happened to Jordan on that summer day almost 14 years ago changed his life’s course but one thing that didn't change is a son's desire to make dad proud.
“What my dad taught me growing up and that's just always be kind, try to keep a level head and do the right thing no matter what,” Jordan said.
And there's no doubt his Dad is smiling down.
