Joshua Wheeker, an Opera singer from Naperville, was seriously injured in a lightning strike on Thursday while visiting the Florida Panhandle.
Wheeker, 33, was struck by lightning at around 11:50 a.m. near the City Pier in Panama City Beach, along the Gulf of Mexico, according to his agent and local authorities. When first responders arrived at the scene, the singer was receiving CPR from a bystander, NBC affiliate WJHG reported.
Brian Jauhiainen, manager of Belcanto Global Arts, which represents the singer, told NBC 5 that, as of Friday evening, Wheeker was awake and making a full recovery. The 33-year-old has been able to talk to his wife and other family members, according to the agent.
"We are relieved and thankful," Jauhiainen said.
Wheeker, described on his website as "an exciting lyric tenor in the opera world," is a graduate of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist program of the LA Opera and received his Bachelor’s of Music from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. He originally hails from Dayton, Ohio.
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