Fowler Associates Labs

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.