Jun 29, 2008 11:04 am US/Eastern
Man Struck By Lightning Trying To Save Furniture
MORA, Minn. (CBS) ―
A Minnesota man is learning just how sudden and dangerous summer storms can be. Lightning struck Kent Lilyerd as he tried to save his outdoor furniture in Mora, Minn. Friday night.
Deputy Jesse Barnes with the Kanabec County Sheriff's Department was first on scene.
"He had dilated pupils, very labored breathing," Barnes said. "It wasn't looking good."
Adam Stout responded from Kanabec Hospital.
"He would open his eyes to his name being called but was not able answer questions appropriately or answer basic commands," said Stout.
Lilyerd is now a patient at Hennepin County Medical Center. Not surprisingly, he said the bolt was like a shock to his system.
"It was just like a flashbulb going off and that's the last thing I remember," Lilyerd said. "Going down with the gazebo in a pile."
Doctors said it's amazing he survived, as he'd been knocking on the door and passing in and out of consciousness for more than two hours. His wife never heard him. She was sleeping before her night shift at the hospital where she works as a nurse.
Doctors added that it's likely his wet clothing saved him. He was wearing a hat with a metal button on the top. They said the lightning entered through his hat and because his clothes were wet, the jolt didn't travel through his body. The bolt entered at his feet again through his steel tip work boots.
He's hoping other people will learn what not to wear in a storm. Lilyerd should be out of the hospital tomorrow, but he won't be in the clear for months. Doctors say that after a lightning strike, there is a risk of developing cataracts and it's even possible to have some tingling in your fingers or toes for up to nine months after being hit.
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