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Struck by Lightning
Mon Dec 05, 2005
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook. In May, 2000, Michael Utley was out for
a round of golf.
They tell me there were storms off in the distance, they blew the warning horn, and 20
seconds later as we were leaving I took a bolt to the head.
BY: Do you remember playing that day?
MU: No. I don’t remember that day, I don’t remember the previous day, nor do I
remember the 38 days that followed. My first memory comes 38 days later when I was
being transferred from an ICU unit to a rehab.
The guy who was with me had just taken a two-week refresher course in CPR two
weeks before that; he was on me when I hit the ground. It took the EMT’s 14 minutes to
get to me. The brain without oxygen? Fourteen minutes? Uh-uh. I might have lived, but I
wouldn’t have wanted to.
Utley has had the experience, as have other lightning survivors, of people not taking his
injuries seriously.
I stumble when I walk a little bit, so you think maybe I have a leg injury or something
like that. But other than that you’d think I’m normal, and I’m not. I took a billion volts
through the body: it changes your brain. I go out to the car… I forget my glasses… I go
get my glasses… I go out to the car… I forget my keys… I come back out get the keys
and start the car… I forget something else… I go inside… get it… half-hour later my
wife comes [and says] "Hey, Honey, what’s the car running for?"
Utley has founded an organization devoted to lightning safety and awareness:
www.struckbylightning.org. A quick lesson? Watch the sky, you’re responsible for your
own safety, learn CPR. "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors.
The Weather Notebook is funded by Subaru of America.
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