This strike also left a 12-inch by 12-inch (30 cm x 30 cm) hole in the ground as the lightning continued its path towards the roots of the tree. It should be noted that there were several taller pin oaks within 100 ft (30 m) of this tree that were not struck. An arborist cut down our tree down for safety reasons because it literally split the trunk in half. Tulip trees tend to be targeted by lightning more than some other trees of similar stature. Photo taken on May 26,2022.Ĭhatham, Illinois Coordinates: 39.6762, -89.While the odds of being hit are extremely low, lightning is unpredictable. It can lurk far from where you think danger lives. Floridians are trained to listen for thunder. The savvier among us know to count the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing a rumble (for every five seconds, the lightning is one mile away). It can strike 10 miles away from a cloud. Church said he couldn’t hear any thunder from the jetty. As he lay on his back in the dark on Jan. Church, a martial arts teacher, tried to move but couldn’t - a common reaction to lightning. After a time, he flipped himself onto his stomach but couldn’t get up. He felt a surge of liquid pour out of his belly. Then he slowly crawled to his tackle box and tried to open it. That’s when he noticed two of his fingers - the right ring finger and pinkie - were almost entirely gone. He used his thumbs to snap it open, grabbed his phone and called 911. “I just got hit by lightning,” he told the 911 operator. “Everything is starting to hurt a little bit now.” They are completely gone,” he added later between moans. Six months later, he said he made it a point to enjoy life just a little more, even though, with no insurance, he is still paying his medical bills, and storms can easily spook him. He takes weekends off, and hangs with his grandchildren. “I just pay attention to life more,” he said. Scars Inside and Outįor Falk Weltzien, the worst almost happened. Weltzien was about to kiteboard on Vilano Beach, next to St. Augustine, with his 14-year-old son the afternoon of Oct. There were no black clouds or thunder it was overcast. Luckily, a nurse was walking down the beach and started performing CPR. Weltzien, 39 at the time, was foaming at the mouth and turning purple. In the hospital, tests were run and burns treated that ran across the back of his neck and left forearm. The worst pain came a short while later, he said. “It was the nerves healing,” he said, a nerve condition called neuropathy. “It lasted 30 days and it was excruciating pain. It’s not a club anyone wants to join, but survivors often crave one another’s company. This gave rise to Lightning Strike & Electric Shock Survivors International, which has members from around the United States and in 13 countries. The most common injury is a concussionlike brain injury, Dr. She added that memory problems, nerve damage and chronic pain were also typical and could last a lifetime. That’s what happened to Cameron Poimboeuf, a Charlotte, N.C., resident, who was struck last July near Clearwater. Cameron, then 15, was playing Pokemon Go with a friend. As they ran for shelter from an approaching storm, he was hit and his heart stopped. Cassandra Thomas, a pediatric nurse standing on a balcony, saw it happen and raced down nine flights of stairs and across the beach to reach him.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |