Oklahoma
Man Recovering from Lightning Strike
December,
2006
A
21-year-old Collinsville man is home, recovering from injuries he received from
a lightning strike.
Josh Kelley was shutting the door to his home on North
Garnett Road when he was apparently struck by lightning. "It felt like I
got shocked at least a thousand times," Kelley said. "You could smell
it where it kind of burnt my Hand."
Josh's mother, Cindy Kelley,
said that she was walking from the other end of the residence when she witnessed
her son being thrown to the floor. "I just saw him flying in from the front
door, just like a rocket," she said. She said that her son probably landed
a good 15 to 20 feet from where he was standing.
According to his mother,
the impact of the lightning strike left Josh in a moaning heap. The fingertips
of his of his right hand were blackened, and it was several minutes before he
could unclench his hand and straighten his arm and nearly an hour passed before
he began to regain feeling in the extremities.
"It
felt like I got hit by a truck," Josh said. He wasn't hospitalized but emergency
personnel at the scene said that Kelley likely sustained an indirect lightning
strike.
His
parents have been monitoring his condition, checking for chest pain, headaches
and confusion. Luckily, other than some sore fingers, Josh says that he has no
lingering effects from the trauma.
