Last week, fans became concerned about photos of Derick Dillard that were posted online by his wife, Jill Duggar.
The images showed Derick looking gaunt and generally unwell.
Coming, as they did, on the heels of rumors that the father of one had been experiencing health problems, the photos sparked rumors amongst fans that Derick had contracted an illness during his time abroad.
The Dillards have spent most of the past year performing missionary work in El Salvador.
During that time, the Zika outbreak and a handful of troubling images left fans concerned for the welfare of the young family.
Rumors about Derick Dillard’s health began to circulate several months ago, as the missionary veteran appeared to have lost 20-30 pounds in a span of just a few weeks.
Over the weekend, Jill acknowledged that Derick nearly lost his life during the couple’s time in Central America.
However, the danger didn’t come in the form of a virus, as so many fans expected.
In her personal blog, Jill offered a harrowing account of a recent incident in which Derick was nearly struck by lightning.
She says a bolt hit the ground not far from where he was talking with a friend on his way back home:
“A minute or so later while they were still talking a little ways from the house, a bolt of lightning hit the tree next to our house! The blast startled everyone around (Israel and I were in the house) and knocked our friend, who Derick was talking with, off his feet!
“We were talking later with some of our friends and realized that had this friend not stopped Derick to talk with him, Derick could’ve been walking through water as he headed to our house and could’ve been electrocuted by the lightening [sic] through the water on the ground.”
Many fans have expressed their relief that the “near-death” experience Jill referred to was not related to a serious illness.
The family will reportedly be returning to the States in the coming weeks.
Only time will tell if Derick will continue joking about the Zika virus.