Kendra Villanueva, Pregnant Woman Struck By Lightning On Fourth Of July, Gives Birth To Baby ‘Flash' Gordon

America may have just gotten its newest superhero. A pregnant woman struck by lightning on the 4th of July gave birth during an emergency Cesarean section to a healthy baby that she hopes will “run fast, or save the universe.”

According to KRQE, Kendra Villanueva and her partner Ian Gordon were sitting on the front lawn of a friend’s home in Albuquerque, N.M., watching a fireworks show, when they were both struck by lightning. The bolt of lightning blew out Gordon’s eardrum, and forced hospital workers to induce labor for Villanueva, who was two weeks from her due date.

“We were actually going inside because we heard the lightning and the thunder,” Gordon said. "The next thing we know, we woke up on the ground and everybody was just trying to keep us calm.”

Nearby Firefighters raced to the scene and brought the couple to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where Villanueva later gave birth to her daughter, named Kimberly Samantha Rose Gordon, via an emergency Cesarean section. “They were both awake and looking at us. They were dazed and confused,” Lt. Ryan Perry of the Albuquerque Fire Department told the station. “But we knew that there were underlying injuries that we possibly couldn't see that we needed to treat quickly and get them to the hospital.”

Both mother and father hope their infant, who they’ve already nicknamed “little Flash Gordon,” will be blessed with extraordinary gifts. “Last name's Gordon, so little Flash Gordon,” Gordon said. “We're hoping for, you know -- run fast, or save the universe.”

While the family of three seems to have mostly recovered from the shock -- they will likely experience long-term muscle spasms as a result of the incident -- doctors say the outcome was nothing less than extraordinary. An emergency medical technician who treated Villanueva and Gordon said that there have only been 11 incidents on record ever, of a pregnant woman getting struck by lightning. Of those 11, he said that only half of the newborns survived.

“Somebody's definitely watching out for us,” Gordon said.

Doctors say they are still monitoring the baby's condition.