BOSTON -- A man struck by lightning when powerful storms swept across Massachusetts on Monday is talking about his ordeal and thanking those who helped save his life.

James Gallant, 37, of Westport, was working at the Sylvan Nursery when the truck in which he was in was struck by the bolt. He said he couldn't feel his arms.

"I remember a loud cracking sound. I never saw lightning," said Gallant, who suffered first-degree burns. "The truck got struck, too. Now that doesn't work."

It was 12:30 p.m. when the violent storm moved over the nursery. When the lightning struck him, his co-workers started CPR.

"I am very thankful that many people took action and weren't afraid to pick me up off the ground," Gallant said.

"I was stunned -- weak in the knees. I thought our life was changed forever," Gallant's wife, Sandy, said.

Gallant thanked everyone at the nursery for their actions.

"I went back and you could see the looks on their faces and they thought they'd seen a ghost," he said.

The Gallants have a 3-year-old son.