Nexus - 1702 - New Times Magazine-pages

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When lightning strikes a person, the following is to concentrate. Told not long after his injury that he'd thought to occur: the electricity, taking the path of least —_ never be able to work again, LeDoux put a gun to his head resistance, travels down the network of nerves, arteries and pulled the trigger; he had forgotten to load it, and veins leading to the brain, the heart, the spinal cord however. Many lightning strike survivors will, if not and the gut, either killing nerve cells immediately or attempt suicide, at least give it serious thought. damaging them by electroporation. Electroporation— Some survivors have to relearn basic motor-skills. Such which may account for those symptoms that have a was the case for Michael Utley, a former stockbroker, who delayed onset—is a process by which electricity makes was struck by lightning in May 2000 while playing golf in iny holes in the membranes of nerve cells, causing them Cape Cod, Florida, USA. He was thrown into the air, his 0 die very slowly. shoes were blown off and his heart stopped beating. Symptoms caused by lightning strike injuries, many of Utley was fortunate to have been accompanied by severa hem baffling and unexplainable, include an irregular friends, one of whom gave him life-saving CPR. Four eartbeat, a heightened startle response, mood problems, __ weeks after the accident he regained consciousness, bu depression, intense headaches, incontinence, frequent then he spent more than two months in rehabilitation, blackouts, sleep disturbances, panic attacks, memory loss, __relearning how to swallow, move his toes and legs and seizures, and debilitating aches and eventually walk. To this day, Utley pains. It is believed that a number of asn't made a full recovery, and hese symptoms can be attributed to a probably never will. In addition to the damaged autonome nervous system In some cases, ingling and sharp pains in ms ams. he (ANS). The ANS, which seems to be . as a loss of sensation in his legs. " particularly vulnerable to however, being sometimes notice bloody footsteps electroporation, controls involuntary struck by lightning behind me, he said, jwithout having unctions of the body such as digestion, ous elt anything at all. ey's sense 0 sexual arousal, heartbeat, temperature can have a positive balance has also been damaged; now control, etc. effect on people's e has to walk with a cane. . . . It's fair to say, of course, that being Never the same again spirituality, making struck by lightning is a predominantly Jerry LeDoux, a master mechanic in them feel as negative experience, leaving survivors is mid-sixties from Sulphur, with a number of impairments and a though they've been blessed, not cursed, and also great deal of pain and trauma. Like Utley, many of them are orced to rebuild their lives, and both physically and mentally they Louisiana, USA, was struck by ightning in August 1999 while standing ankle deep in a puddle. He remembers seeing an intensely bright light, then waking up half an . p are never the same again. our later, about 20 feet away, with imparting them In some cases, however, being he faint taste of battery acid in his with a deep struck by lightning can have a mouth. Several of his teeth had positive effect on people's been shattered. His two-way radio respect for nature. spirituality, making them feel as hough they've been blessed, not cursed, and also imparting them ad exploded, moreover, and the soles of his shoes had melted. Also damaged was the medical ID with a deep respect for nature. ag he wore around his neck; this Some liken the experience to a ad melted into his chest. ind of spiritual awakening, saying Thinking he'd escaped unharmed, he drove home from __ it transformed them for the better—or, at the very least, work that afternoon and also attended work the next day. | made them value their life much more. Said LeDoux: "I didn't even know I was hurt. | didn’ On 16 July 2008, at around 2.00 am, journalist Kim realize anything was wrong." McNairn and her husband, Les Perreaux, also a journalist, When, much later, he did notice something was wrong, — were camping in a tent in northern Quebec when a violent LeDoux, like many lightning strike victims, struggled to storm broke out. They noticed that the period between gain the attention and concern of doctors. It took him six each flash of lightning and each boom of thunder was months, in fact, to find a doctor who actually believed getting progressively shorter—an indication that the he'd been struck. Among LeDoux's most serious and storm was heading straight for them. Suddenly, they frustrating problems is terrible short-term memory. " heard a crash of thunder so loud it sounded like a bomb would've been able to hide my own Easter eggs and no going off. Said McNairn: "I felt it was in my head, right find them," he said. "I lose days, sometimes a whole _ there. Our tent is orange and the light coming in was week." He also suffers from bouts of depression and orange, but there was a bright white light and flashes of extreme irritability, is easily fatigued and finds it difficul blue." McNairn and her husband smelled the stench of In some cases, however, being struck by lightning can have a positive effect on people's spirituality, making them feel as though they've been blessed, not cursed, and also imparting them with a deep NEXUS #55 respect for nature. FEBRUARY - MARCH 2010 www.nexusmagazine.com