Lightning strikes former Benonian
Former Farrarmere resident Cameron Scott was struck by lightning on Monday (November 7).
“It felt like I was being electrocuted,” said Scott.
“Doctors say I am lucky to be alive, although each case is different.”
The Edenvale resident said he was sitting on the couch near a glass door in the living room, when a lightning bolt hit the door and went underneath it.
The electricity passed through his left leg, which was on the floor at the time.
“There are blue lines on the floor and on the walls showing where the lightning struck,” the former Benoni High School pupil said.
He describes the left side of his body feeling completely numb.
The symptoms he experienced were burst ear drums, his ears were ringing, he felt dizzy and really hot and he had pins and needles for about a week.
Scott was with his younger sister, Caitlin, at the time, and she was terrified by the ordeal.
“I got such a fright, it was so loud,” she said.
“It was unexpected, because you always think lightning can’t strike you when you are indoors.”
She mentioned that she started becoming worried about her brother once he started developing strange symptoms.
“We took him to the hospital about 40 minutes after the incident happened,” she said.
Scott was discharged from Linksfield Hospital on November 12, four days after the incident.
The after-effects of the freak accident resulted in him losing his speech and stuttering for a few days before it was regained.
The 27-year-old is thankful to have survived the experience and urges the public to switch off all electrical appliances in the house during a storm.
People need to make sure the wiring in their homes is installed and earthed properly.
“All four of our TVs were struck, along with the cappuccino machine, the fridge and other appliances,” he said.
Scott is glad to be alive.
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