Hi! I hope these people who have been struck by lightning in the last few weeks and have survived don't suffer side effects

I was struck in 1982 while fitting a stone protector guard to the bonnet of my new Falcon station wagon.

I was taken to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and awoke with a cardiograph machine attached.

That was when I panicked because of all the wires and believed they were trying to electrocute me.

The strike hadn't damaged my heart, so I was allowed to go home.

I was a bit muddled, and was angry because I wanted to go see a model train show and no one would go with me.

No one would go because there wasn't one. I imagined there was and demanded to see it.

later (10 weeks) I realized I couldn't spell and later I could see clearly, I could no longer remember words to songs and couldn't

learn and remember new songs. I could no longer play my accordion or piano and sing (which I had done for close 50 years)

I have learned to spell reasonably well (thank to computer spell check) and I wear franklin lens glasses not bi-focal because

the muscles in my eyes were damaged by the lightning so I need prisms in the bottom lenses to read, but not the top for distance.

I have lost lots of memories about events through life and still can't learn and remember poems or words to songs, I have problems with filling in forms,

I lose track in conversation at times, but after 10 seconds I get back on track. I can't smile like I did and look sad because of lack of use to some of my face muscles.

BUT I am happy and I have a good life ( at least I am still alive)  So all who have experienced being struck don't be surprised if you have some problems later.

You may lose some  things, but there  plenty of good things left like travelling this great country.

Cheers Colin

Gerty Dancer wrote:

So in a thunderstorm don't use a phone with a cord!

---

 When I was bowled over I was talking on a field telephone (army exercise) which had cables strung to other users, the current must have run down the line as the arm I was holding the phone with took about an hour before I was able to bend or use it.   When I went over backwards in the chair (breaking the slats), it yanked the phone out of my hand so maybe that saved me.  

Although I have hearing problems now, I don't recall having hearing problems afterwards, as a matter of fact I could hear the voice of the person I was talking to speaking on the phone asking if I was ok, the phone was laying on the ground near my ear, but I couldn't move for awhile.   They had no shock at their end.

When it happened there was a flash of white light and someone told me they thought the line had been struck by ball lightning.

Here is a US site on some precautions, see the photo of the cows;

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/outdoors.htm