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Thursday, May 25, 2017

What It's Like to be Struck by Lightning

Around 4,000 people around the world die from lightning strikes every year, but about ten times as many are hit by lightning and survive. For those who survive a strike, the experience is so memorable that they've formed an international survivors group. Some only have memories of the experience, while others face lifelong effects and health issues, both mental and physical. Their stories are always scary. 
A crashing boom. A jolting, excruciating pain. "My whole body was just stopped — I couldn't move any more," Justin recalls. "The pain was… I can't explain the pain except to say if you've ever put your finger in a light socket as a kid, multiply that feeling by a gazillion throughout your entire body."
"And I saw a white light surrounding my body — it was like I was in a bubble. Everything was slow motion. I felt like I was in a bubble forever."
A couple huddled under a nearby tree ran to Justin's assistance. They later told him that he was still clutching the chair. His body was smoking.
When Justin came to, he was looking up at people staring down, his ears ringing. Then he realized that he was paralyzed from the waist down. "Once I figured out that I couldn't move my legs, I started freaking out."
Read the stories of several lightning survivors, and a little of what we know about lightning's effect on humans, at Mosaic.

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