Posted on 06/13/2005 4:39:38 AM PDT by Puppage
EPHRATA, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania woman is recovering after being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm on Monday.
As lightning lit up the sky outside her house, Donna Kulfan figured she was safe in her basement doing laundry.
"I said, 'Just let me throw a load into the washing machine,'' Kulfan said. "As I turned the dial on the machine, the house was struck by lightning."
Kulfan instantly saw a purple glow.
"I could feel a fire going up my arm, across my chest and out the top of my head,'' Kulfan said. "The only way I can describe it -- it felt like someone dropped a piano on my head."
Kulfan then heard her children screaming upstairs. Fearing they were hurt, she managed to make it up the stairs by herself.
"Purple flashes of fire and light were coming out of every socket in the house. The lights there turned off, turned on, instantly,'' Kulfan said.
The microwave glowed purple and popped. Her children were OK, but her daughter quickly realized Kulfan had been struck by lightning.
"I was completely burned. She could see I had burn marks on me. I kept saying I had been hit. I had been hit,'' Kulfan said.
There was no visible damage to the outside of the house, so firefighters don't know where the lightning struck, but they guess it hit the foundation of the house, traveled through pipes, into the washer and right up Kulfan's arm.
"I just know God completely and totally protected me, most importantly protected my children,'' Kulfan said.
Kulfan is still having head and neck pain, but agreed to talk with Lancaster, Pa., television station WGAL in the hope that her story makes others stay away from all appliances during summer storms.
"Truthfully, I never thought of not putting it (the laundry) in. I could've been killed,'' Kulfan said.
Doctors told Kulfan there are no signs of permanent damage and she should consider herself very lucky.
The alarm over tired's fate was widespread :)
I immediately thought of Tired!
Shocking! Simply shocking!
I would point out that we have not yet heard from our friend.
She usually posts on the Tony Snow Show thread starting at 9am EST.
I know. We shall have to observe her posts carefully to determine whether they are more electrifying than usual ;)
LOL. I can now head off to work with my mind at rest.
LOL! To heck w/the laundry; I'd be racing outa that house w/those blue flashes coming out of every socket.
Lightning struck 4 houses down from me on Friday. It apparently hit their back yard area and the family had similar experience with blue light going through their house. I've printed this out to show them.
It knocked down two power lines and the block was without power for upwards of 24 hours. The utility was dealing with a larger outage west of here.
It sounded just like this: Ker-POWWWWW!
LOLOL! Glad you're OK.
Lightning is scary stuff, pb. Once, on a sunny summer day while I was on the phone, a blue streak went through the house from the deck door. I couldn't believe what happened......not a cloud in the sky. Needless to say, that long distant phone call ended abruptly.
Reads as though the lightning struck the weatherhead or incoming electrical service and jumped all protection in electrical panels, energizing all conductors and overpowering all insulation around switches throughout all devices attached to the receptacles.
The additional damage is that probably everything plugged into the wall is now fried. Even if it operates, its probably unsafe because the insulation has been pierced and may short circuit to ground by any future use.
Lightning is scary. When I hear the first rumble of thunder, I run around like a madwoman turning EVERYTHING off.
'Twas only The Force.
LOL
lol!
Proving yet again that HOUSEWORK IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH!
Well, maybe not completely and totally.
Several years ago lightning fried both my computer and my printer. I had a surge protector, but it was evidently not strong enough. I now have a top-of-the line surge protector, a new computer, and a new printer. Luckily, home insurance covered everything except the $500 deductable. NOW, I turn off everything too!
Neighbors of ours had their house struck late one Saturday afternoon. They had been in the basement watching golf on TV. Though no one was hurt, the father said that the wall sockets exploded across the room like somebody had put a shotgun behind each one. Unfortunately, in their case, the attic caught fire and when the smoke had cleared, they were living in an apartment for the next year.
From the headline I assumed the woman was outside hanging clothes on a clotheline.
I know alot of folks don't' realize that lightning is dangerous even if you are inside.
Glad you are alright! Whew!
Once again proving my point that the only way to do laundry is nude, wearing a football helmet and moon boots.
That'll teach her to troll FreeRepublic. I'm so glad the VRWC saw fit to supply us with that new powerful generator.
My coousin was killed talking on the phone to her mom (my aunt)
Puts new meaning into the term static cling!
Lightning ping.
Me too, and it reminded me of a bit of family history that I recently found out. My grandmother's grandmother was outside hanging laundry under a mulberry tree back in 1903 and was hit and killed by lightning.
The newspaper account adds this: "Of course, such a death as this is always unexpected, but in this case it was particularly so, for no rain at all fell at Mrs. Hadden's home, and only a thin skirt of cloud hid from vision the clear sky when death came."
Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute. I wasn't even at my computer that day.
Makes you think that perhaps someone "upstairs" is trying to send a message.
That sounds like the way you would interpret this story, xs.
Wow! I need to get one of those!
I think I need to request hazardous duty pay.
Clatu berata Nikto wow!!
Ya THINK?!??!
At some point, women are going to finally reach the conclusion that hanging the wash out to dry is a deadly threat, invest in a dryer.
Now that I think about it, it must have damaged the mouse port too, since I had to go usb.
IIRC, after the third encounter, she moved to San Francisco.
LoL
Laundry is a very dangerous job! ;-)
People who are struck by lightning often have permanent neurological disorders.
LOL!!!
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