Not many folks can say they’ve been struck by lightning, but Shirley Jacobs can.

Twenty-five years ago, a round of golf on a course in Port Charlotte, Florida almost became the last thing Jacobs ever did when a bolt from the sky knocked her to the ground.

“I was in (the hospital) for over a week,” said the 87-year-old resident of Independence Village of Waterstone in Oxford Township.

The lightning was powerful enough to completely melt the gold chain around her neck, leaving behind a prominent, V-shaped scar. But, it was not strong enough to end Jacob’s life.

“I’m still here,” she said.

Jacobs has decided to share her story of survival as part of a new book featuring words of wisdom from senior citizens living in Independence Village and StoryPoint communities spread across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Entitled “Old Wise Tales: Life Lessons for Future Generations,” it will contain original stories, poems, quotes and comics collected from senior residents throughout April.

“There is definitely a buzz going around (the building),” said Laura Ashley, life enrichment coordinator at Independence Village of Waterstone.

All submissions will be posted online and select ones will be published in the book.

The book’s goal is to honor seniors’ legacies and inspire readers.

Ashley, who has worked at the Waterstone facility for 17 years, said the residents possess a “wealth of knowledge.” Whenever she’s going through a difficult time, she said their stories and advice often help “calm me down” and gain “some perspective on things.”

The book will cover a variety of topics, including family and parenting, love and relationships, forgiveness, grief, obstacles, gratitude, faith, success and regrets.

Ashley is anxious to get the seniors’ stories “out there” and “share them with the world.”

“Let’s make them famous,” she said.

According to Ashley, the goal is to get at least 20 stories from each community.

“Hopefully, we’ll hit that number,” she said.

To help the seniors commit their words and experiences to paper, Independence Village of Waterstone is seeking volunteers to provide  on-site support in the form of writing, transcribing and editing.

Folks interested in volunteering can contact Ashley by calling (248) 236-8300 or sending an e-mail to lashley@independencevillages.com.

Jacobs sees her unique story as one of gratitude because she’s lucky she survived and went on to live a “full” life with her husband and family. Jacobs has four grandkids.

“I got to see my children have children,” she said.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), an average of 43 lightning fatalities per year were reported in the United States between 1989 and 2018. Between 2009 and 2018, there were an average 27 lightning-related deaths reported on an annual basis and an estimated 243 injuries each year.

Jacobs was struck on Oct. 23, 1994. She and her husband Charles, who has since passed away, were playing at the Riverwood Golf Course when it happened.

Shortly after hearing the “low rumble” of thunder in the distance, Jacobs, who was 62 at the time, was hit by a bolt while standing on the 13th green, holding a putter.

To this day, Jacobs said she remembers “nothing at all” about the moment the lightning made contact. She only knows what happened immediately after.

Her first post-strike memory is her husband rolling her over. She couldn’t see anything, but she could hear him speaking.

Due to her inability to swallow, speak or move her right side, Jacobs initially assumed she had suffered a stroke. It wasn’t until she heard someone say “a lady has been struck by lightning” that Jacobs realized they were talking about her.

Jacobs sustained second and third-degree burns on her neck and chest.

She had an exit wound on the palm of her right hand, the hand in which she was holding the putter. This is where it’s believed the electricity left her body. She experienced pain in that hand for the next five years.

Jacobs suffered other aftereffects, including headaches, neck pain, nerve damage, memory lapses and fatigue.

The traumatic experience left Jacobs with a fear of thunderstorms. During them, she will not go outdoors and while indoors, she won’t go near windows, doors or turn on water faucets.

Jacobs is definitely not one of those folks who believes the old myth that “lightning never strikes the same place twice.”

“I don’t want to test that,” she said.

According to the NWS, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are 1 in 1.222 million and the odds of being struck during a lifetime spanning 80 years are 1 in 15,300.

Jacobs is grateful to Lightning Strike and Electric Shock Survivors International, Inc. for helping her cope and move on. Based in Jacksonville, North Carolina, the nonprofit support group is for survivors, their families and other interested parties. Every year, there’s a conference for survivors in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Jacobs said she “suffered” for two years after the strike before finding the group.

“They did help. That is a wonderful group,” she said. “You had people you could talk to who had also been struck by lightning . . . That was a healer for me. It really was.”